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Modern  Cr  e  m atioh 

ITS  History  and 


I 


1/ 


MODERN  CREMATION 


[ 


I 


MODERN  CREMATION 

CREMATION  :   ITS   HISTORY  AND  PRACTICE 
TO   THE   PRESENT  DATE 

WITH  INFORMATION  RELATING  TO  ALL 
RECENTLY  IMPROVED  ARRANGEMENTS  MADE  BY  THE 
CREMATION  SOCIETY  OF  ENGLAND 


BY 

SIR  H.  THOMPSON,  Bart.,  F.R.C.S. 

M.  B.  LoND.  &c, 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  SOCIETY  SINCE  ITS  FOUNDATION  IN  1874 


THIRD  EDITION 
REVISED   AND    MUCH  ENLARGED 


LONDON 

SMITH,  ELDER,  &  CO,  15  WATERLOO  PLACE 

1899 


[All    rights  reserved] 


Su 


1 — -    ' '  '        '  — 

ROYAL  COLLfTGS  OF  PHYSICIANS 
LIBRA^vY 

CLASS 

ACCN, 

SOURCE 

DATfc 

PREFACE 


A  THIRD  EDITION  of  this  work  being  required, 
I  have  rearranged  and  rewritten  much  of  the 
material  forming  the  last  (date  1891),  and 
brought  the  history  of  the  practice  of  cremation 
and  of  the  work  of  the  Cremation  Society  of 
England  up  to  the  present  date. 

The  Society  has  now  existed  twenty-five 
years,  and  a  brief  account  of  its  proceedings  may 
be  appropriately  offered  at  the  present  juncture. 
Having  during  the  whole  of  this  period  devoted 
a  considerable  portion  of  time  to  its  service  as 
President  of  the  Council — an  honour  very  highly 
esteemed  and  appreciated — I  am  enabled  to 
relate  with  accuracy  the  incidents  and  varied 
experience  which  have  been  encountered  in  its 
management  throughout. 

The  form  of  the  book  is  completely  changed. 
Instead  of  "Four  Parts"  there  are  now  six 
chapters  and  an  Appendix.  The  first  three 
chapters  are  devoted  to  the  history  above  alluded 


vi 


Modern  Cremation 


to  ;  that  portion  of  it  which  occupies  the  third 
giving  details  of  a  movement  initiated  by  the 
Council  of  the  Society  for  the  purpose  of 
memorialising  the  Government  on  the  imperfect 
method  of  Death-certification  followed  in  this 
country.  The  Council  stated  that  it  was  defec- 
tive even  in  ascertaining  the  fact  of  death ; 
and  untrustworthy  in  determining  its  cause  ; 
while  many  cases  of  death  escaped  certification 
altogether.  The  Home  Secretary  of  the  day, 
Mr.  Asquith,  convinced  of  the  need  of  an 
inquiry,  granted  one  by  a  Special  Committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  which  fully  admitted 
the  allegations  made,  and  recommended  the 
remedies  proposed  by  the  Society. 

Unhappily  no  action  resulted,  and  this 
flagrant  blot  on  the  conduct  of  our  social 
arrangements  still  exists. 

The  fourth  chapter  is  devoted  to  a  con- 
sideration of  the  value  of  cremation  to  society  as 
a  sanitary  agent,  more  especially  in  all  cases  of 
death  caused  by  highly  contagious  or  infectious 
diseases. 

The  fifth  presents  "  the  original  argument," 
viz.  the  general  grounds  on  which  it  is  con- 
tended that  cremation  becomes  in  time  a 
sanitary  necessity  in  every  closely  populated 
locality  ;  and  I  republish,  with  some  abbrevia- 
tion, my  earliest  writings  on  this  subject,  which 


Preface  vii 

appeared  twenty-five  years  ago,  as  the  facts 
there  adduced  and  the  conclusions  drawn  from 
them  remain  unchanged  since  that  date.  More- 
over, I  learn  from  the  numerous  applicants  who 
write  to  me  for  information,  that  it  is  still  as 
necessary  as  ever  to  name  the  facts  and  explain 
the  natural  laws  there  set  forth,  which  must 
inevitably  render  cremation  (or  some  method  of 
disposing  of  the  dead  other  than  burial)  sooner 
or  later  most  desirable,  if  not  necessary,  in  a 
country  so  densely  populated  as  our  own. 

The  sixth  chapter  presents  additional  reasons 
for  cremation  derived  from  increased  experience 
which  later  years  have  afforded. 

And  lastly  the  Appendix  contains  much 
practical  information  which  I  trust  may  be 
found  useful  to  those  who  are  interested  in 
cremation,  and  desire  to  possess  full  details 
connected  with  its  performance.  I  hope  thus 
to  render  the  present  edition  a  more  complete 
epitome  of  the  subject  than  the  original  work 
was  designed  to  be,  or  indeed  could  have  been 
at  the  time  of  its  appearance. 

HENRY  THOMPSON. 

35  WiMPOLE  Street,  London  : 
July  1899. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

HISTORY,  1874-84. 

Modern  cremation  originated  chiefly  in  Italy,  between 
1860-70— Vienna  Exhibition  of  1873— Brunetti's 
results  there— Author's  experiments  in  1873— And 
articles  on  subject,  1874— General  interest  excited- 
Society  formed— Council  chosen  — Legal  opinions 
obtained— Site  selected  at  Woking  for  crematorium 
— Gorini  invited  from  Italy,  superintends  erection  in 
1879— Home  Office  forbids  the  practice — Progress 
abroad— Italy  several  Crematoria  ;  Milan  and  Rome — 
Paris-^Germany— Sweden,  with  progress  up  to  1889-99 
—Australia  and  other  countries— Captain  Hanham 
performs  cremation  in  Dorsetshire— A  cremation  in 
Wales  in  1884  raised  question  of  legality— Sir  James 
Stephen's  judgment  in  its  favour  — Sir  Charles 
Cameron's  Bill  in  the  House  of  Commons  . 


CHAPTER  II. 
HISTORY  {continued),  1884-91. 

The  English  Society  give  public  notice  to  perform  crema- 
tion at  Woking- Conditions  and  forms  necessary- 
First  cremation,  March,  1885— The  numbers  cremated 
annually  afterwards-No  coffins  henceforth- Only  a 
light  pine  shell  — Mode  of  procedure  —  Erection  of 
chapel,  etc.— Public  subscriptions— Largely  aided  by 
the  Duke  of  Bedford— Crematorium  described- 
London  office— Cinerary  urns— in  variety  .       .  : 


X 


Modern  Cremation 


CHAPTER  III. 
HISTORY  {concluded),  1891-99. 

Gradual  progress  between  1885-92- Society  recognised  "^^^ 
defects  in  system  of  death  registration— And  approach 
Secretary  of  State  by  deputation— Serious  allegations 
made  respecting  its  inefficiency  —The  Minister  grants 
Select  Committee  of  House  of  Commons  for  inquiry- 
Report  issued  in  1893,  confirming  statements  made; 
endorsing  and  commending  the  labours  of  the  Society 
— Extracts  from  Report— Second  deputation  to  the 
minister— Necessary  reform  described —Working  of 
system  in  1896  and  1897— Changes  recommended 
not  yet  carried  out— Crematoria  established  at  Man- 
chester, Glasgow,  Liverpool  and  elsewhere  —Twenty- 
fifth  anniversary  of  the  Society  at  Grosvenor  House, 
March,  1899  44,63 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  VALUE  OF  CREMATION,  IN  CASES  OF  DEATH 
BY  INFECTIOUS  DISEASE. 

The  large  class  of  diseases  which  produce  infection 
during  life  and  after  death  in  various  ways — History 
records  their  fatal  influence  —especially  after  burial  in 
populous  districts — Safety  to  living  only  insured  by 
the  cremation  of  all  such  cases  ....  64-73 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  ARGUMENT  FOR  CREMATION,  AS  FIRST 
PRESENTED  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS  AGO. 

Death  is  not  cessation  of  activity,  but  entails  another 
form  of  it — To  resolve  the  body  into  its  primary 
elements  — For  a  fresh  career  in  the  vegetable  world 
— Then  to  be  consumed  by  animals  and  return  again 


Contents 


xi 


I'AGE 

to  animal  life — Burial  delays  the  process — Cremation 
facilitates  it — The  economic  question — The  question 
of  sentiment — Premature  burial— Cremation  secures 
better  than  burial  a  concrete  memorial  of  the  deceased. 

Controversy  with  Medical  Inspector  of  burial  for 
England  and  Wales  —The  first  authority  on  that  sub- 
ject— He  estimates  too  lightly  the  evils  of  burial — Un- 
answerable evidence  adduced — Illustrating  its  mani- 
fold dangers — Hence  intramural  interment  had  been 
abolished — Evidence  of  leading  sanitarians  of  that  day 
— Comparison  between  cremation  and  burial  demon- 
strates superiority  of  the  former  in  many  ways    .  74-129 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  ARGUMENT  FOR  CREMATION  BASED  ON  A 
LARGER  EXPERIENCE,  GAINED  DURING  LATER 
YEARS. 

Recent  scientific  study  proves  high  temperature  to  be  the 
best  agent  for  destroying  the  germs  of  disease— The 
one  objection  to  cremation  is  that  traces  of  poison  and 
violence  are  thus  destroyed  also— No  form  of  burial  is 
fatal  to  diseased  germs,  while  it  soon  destroys  traces 
of  subtle  poison— Knowledge  of  cause  of  death  neces- 
sary in  all  cases  before  body  is  disposed  of— Exhuma- 
tion an   inefficient  substitute — Special  evidence  to 

prove  this  statement— Causes  of  death  considered  

Suspicious  circumstances  noted — Subjects  for  medical 
inquiry  —  Directions  thereto  —  Criminal  poisoning 
would  rarely  escape  detection  if  the  Society's  system 
were  employed— Recent  objection,  that  cremation 
renders  the  air  injurious  to  life,  fully  answered — Advan- 
tages resulting  from  cremation  :  (i)  Preserves  land  for 
food  production  ;  (2)  Reduces  costs  of  funeral  rites  ; 
(3)  Restores  ashes  of  the  dead  to  every  church,  cloister 
or  vault— Chief  legal  provisions  necessary  for  future 
registration  of  death  and  disposal  of  the  dead    .  130-155 


xii  Modern  C7-emation 


APPENDIX. 

Present  Constitution  of  the  Cremation  Society  of 
England  ;  and  Notes  respecting  locality  of  the  Crema- 
torium at  Woking. 

General  Directions  for  arranging  a  Cremation,  with 
Details. 

\  A  Copy  of  the  Instructions  forming  a  Schedule,  used 
in  connection  with  every  Death  occurring  in  Paris  and 
the  large  cities  of  France  ,       .       .       .  tc, 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PLATES. 

I.  General  View  of  the  Chapel  and 

Crematoria  at  St.  John's,  Woking  .  Frontispiece 

II.  The  Society's  Crematorium  in  Front  ; 
the  Chapel,  built  later,  seen 
Beyond  To  face  p.  g 

III.  The  Chapel,  showing  the  Entrance  ; 
the  Crematoria  almost  hidden 
on  the  Left  Beyond      .       ,       .         >,  32 

_IV.  Interior  of  the  Chapel       .       .    .         >>  33 

V.  Entrance  to  the  Grounds  of  the 

Crematorium  ;  Porter's  Lodge      .  34 


IN  THE  TEXT. 

PAGE 

I.  An  Etruscan  «  Cista  '  in  the  British  Museum  .  39 
2  and  3.  Simple  Forms  of  Receptacles  adapted 

from  Classical  Models  .  .  .  .  40 
4.  Copy  of  Ancient  Cinerary  Urn  ...  42 
5  and  6.  Designs  of  more  Ornate  Form  .      •.    42,  43 


MODERN  CREMATION 


CHAPTER  I. 

HISTORY  1874-84. 

Modern  Cremation  originated  chiefly  in  Italy  ;  between  1860-70 
—Vienna  Exhibition  of  1873— Brunetti's  results  there- 
Author's  experiments  in  1873— And  Articles  on  subject,  1874 
—General  interest  excited— Society  formed— Council  chosen 
—Legal  opinions  obtained— Site  selected  at  Woking  for 
Crematorium— Gorini  invited  from  Italy,  superintends 
erection  in  1879— Home  Office  forbids  the  practice— Pro- 
gress abroad— Italy  several  crematoria ;  Milan  and  Rome 
—Paris— Germany— Sweden,  with  progress  up  to  1898-9 
—Australia  and  other  countries- Capt.  Hanham  per- 
forms cremation  in  Dorsetshire— A  cremation  in  Wales 
in  1884  raised  question  of  legality-Sir  James  Stephen's 
judgment  in  its  favour— Sir  Charles  Cameron's  Bill  in  the 
House  of  Commons. 


The  brief  historical  outline  which  I  design  to  History  of 
make  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  cremation  — 
m  ii^ngland  during  the  last  twenty-five  years 
reckoning  from  the  commencement  of  1874,  will'  '-^^^ 
be  mcomplete  without  an  allusion  to  what  the 
modern  reaction  in  favour  of  cremation  had 
achieved  on  the  continent  shortly  before  the 


B 


2 


Modern  Creiiiation 


Practical 
e.xpei-itiients 
commenced 
in  Italy. 


Results 
slioivn  at 
the  Vienna 
Exhibition, 
1873. 


Brttnetti. 


date  named.  The  proposal  to  adopt  it  in  recent 
times  originally  proceeded  mainly  from  Italy. 
Papers  and  monographs  appeared  commending 
the  method  as  early  as  1866,  but  practical  ex- 
perimenters, Gorini  and  Polli,  published  sepa- 
rately the  results  of  their  experiments  in  1872  ; 
and  among  others,  Professor  Brunetti,  of  Padua, 
in  1873  detailed  his  experience,  exhibiting  the 
results  of  it  in  the  form  of  ashes,  etc.,  with  a 
model  of  his  furnace,  at  the  Great  Exhibition  at 
Vienna  of  that  year. 

I  first  became  practically  acquainted  with  the 
subject  on  seeing  his  collection  there,  and  studied 
it  with  great  interest.  I  had  long  believed  that 
cremation  was  in  theory  the  quickest  and  safest 
mode  of  reducing  the  dead  body  to  its  original 
elements— the  end  which  was  attained  slowly, 
and  not  without  danger  to  the  living,  by  burial 
in  earth.  But  I  now  satisfied  myself  for  the 
first  time  that,  if  not  by  this  apparatus,  yet  by 
some  other,  complete  and  inoffensive  combustion 
of  the  body  might  almost  certainly  be  effected 
without  difficulty.  Brunetti's  first  cremation 
took  place  in  1869,  his  second  and  third  in  1870, 
and  were  performed  in  an  open  furnace  out  of 
doors.  The  results  were  effectively  displayed 
and  illustrated  by  written  descriptions,  plans,  and 
drawings. 

In  no  other  European  country  had  any  act  of 


Its  early  History  here 


3 


human  cremation  taken  place,  as  far  as  I  can 
learn,  prior  to  1874  ;  and  very  little  notice  or  in- 
formation respecting  it  appeared  in  any  literary 
form.    My  friend,  the  late  Dr.  de  Pietra  Santa,  nr.dePie- 
the  well-known  sanitary  authority  of  Paris,  re-  'pl^""^""' 
ported  the  Italian  cases  in  a  little  brochure 
on  the  subject  in  1873,  according  his  hearty 
support  to  the  practice.    But  in  the  autumn  of 
1874  there  appears  to  have  been  a  solitary 
example  at  Breslau ;  while  another  occurred  Breslau  and 
almost  immediately  afterwards  at  Dresden,  where 
an  English  lady  was  cremated  in  a  Siemens' 
apparatus  by  the  agency  of  gas.    No  repeti- 
tion  of  the  process  has   taken  place  there 
since. 

Being  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  value  of 
the  method  as  a  sanitary  reform,  at  once  pressing 
and  important,  I  ventured  to  bring  the  subject 
before  the  English  public  for  the  first  time,  by  ^IlLacyo/ 
writing  an  article  which  appeared  in  the  Contem- 
porary  Review  in  January,  1 874,  entitled  "  Cre- 
mation :  the  Treatment  of  the  Body  after  Death. 
And  I  advocated  the  plan  there  set  forth,  based 
on  the  Italian  trials  referred  to,  and  further  illus- 
trated by  several  experimental  cremations  made 
by  myself  in  powerful  furnaces,  on  animals,  both 
in  London  and  Birmingham,  at  the  same  date. 
On  the  results  thus  obtained,  I  felt  justified  in  ^'^o..ntoie 
asserting  the  superiority  of  a  complete  cremation 


4 


Modern  Cremation 


at  all  events,  to  any  method  by  burial  in  the 
soil.*  The  reason  assigned  for  taking  this  step 
was  my  belief,  supported  by  a  striking  array  of 
facts,  that  cremation  was  becoming  a  necessary 
sanitary  precaution  against  the  propagation  of 
disease  among  a  population  rapidly  increasing, 
and  daily  growing  larger  in  relation  to  the  area 
it  occupies. 

Public  degree  of  attention  which  this  proposal 

opinion       aroused  was  remarkable,  not  only  here,  but 

aroused,  '  ■' 

abroad,  the  paper  being  translated  into  several 
European  languages.  In  the  course  of  the  first 
six  months  of  that  year,  I  received  eight  hundred 
letters  on  the  subject,  from  persons  mostly  un- 
known to  me,  requiring  objections  to  be  an- 
swered, explanations  to  be  given,  supposed 
consequences  to  be  provided  for ;  some,  indeed, 
accompanied  with  much  criticism  on  the  "  pagan," 
and  not       qj.  ct  anti-Christian,"  tendency  of  the  plan.    I  was 

altogether 

unfriendly,  encouraged,  however,  to  find  that  a  large  majority 
were  more  or  less  friendly  to  the  proposal.  But 
I  confess  I  had  been  scarcely  prepared  to  expect 
that  people  in  general  would  be  so  much  startled 
by  it,  as  if  it  were  a  novelty  hitherto  unheard  of 
Long  familiar  with  it  in  thought  myself,  cherish- 
ing a  natural  preference  for  the  manifest  advan- 
tages it  offers,  on  sanitary  grounds,  to  burial, 
and,  equally  so,  after  thoughtful  comparison,  on 

*  See  Chapter  V.  for  description  of  these  experiments. 


Reception  of  the  Proposal  5 

all  considerations  governed  by  feeling  or  senti- 
ment, the  opposition  nianifested  appeared  to  me 
curiously  out  of  proportion  with  the  importance 
of  certain  interests  or  predilections  I  had  perhaps 
underestimated.    Even  the  few  who  approved 

Regarded  as 

yielded  for  the  most  part  a  weak  assent  to  the  ^J/-^l''^ 
confident  assertion  of  a  host  of  opponents  that, 
whatever  might  be  the  fate  of  the  theory,  any 
realization  of  it  could  never  at  all  events  occur 
in  our  time.    To  use  a  phrase  invented  since 
that  date,  the  proposal  was  not  regarded  as 
coming  within  the  range  of  a  practical  policy. 
At  some  future  day,  when  the  world's  population  ai  some  re- 
had  largely  increased,  we  might  possibly  be  "^"///uTe""^ 
driven  to  submit  to  such  a  process,  but,  thank  i']^}^^"^^^ 
Heaven  !  the  good  old-fashioned  resting-place 
in  the  churchyard  or  cemetery  would  amply 
suffice  to  meet  all  demands  for  several  genera- 
tions still  to  come. 

To  some  of  the  natural  and  practical  objec-  someachve 
tions,  especially  those  which  had  been  urged  by  %fi^'ZT'' 
men  of  experience,  weight,  and  position,  entitled 
to  be  listened  to  with  respect  and  attention,  I 
replied  in  a  subsequent  article  which  appeared 
two  months  later  in  the  same  journal.  The  sub- 
stance of  the  two  papers  appears  in  Chapter  V.  of 
this  work,  entitled  "  The  Original  Argument  for 
Cremation." 

Meantime,  during  January  and  March,  1874, 


6 


Modern  Cremation 


a  few  persons  interested  in  the  subject  met  at  my 
house,  and  agreed  to' form  a  society  for  the  pur- 
A  cremation  pose  of  advocating  Cremation.    The  declaration 

soctcty 

proposed.  now  used  was  there  drawn  up  on  the  13th  of 
January,  and  signed  by  them.  The  first  to  do 
so  were  "  Shirley  Brooks,  William  Eassie,  Ernest 
Hart,  the  Rev.  H.  R.  Haweis,  G.  H.  Hawkins, 
John  Cordy  Jeaffreson,  F.  Lehmann,  C.  F.  Lord, 
W.  Shaen,  A.  Strahan,  Henry  Thompson,  Major 
Vaughan,  Rev.  C.  Voysey,  and  T.  Spencer 
Wells  ; "  and  these  frequently  met  to  consider 
preliminary  movements. 

The  Society  was  "  formally  constituted  at  a 
meeting  on  April  29th,  after  which  a  committee 
subsequently  known  as  *  The  Council '  was 
formed ;  Sir  H.  Thompson  was  elected  president, 
and  to  act  as  its  chairman  ; "  the  annual  sub- 
scription fixed  at  a  guinea ;  Mr.  Eassie  appointed 
secretary,  and  acted  thus  for  the  first  time  at 
this  meeting.  He  had  previously  assisted  me  in 
dealing  with  most  of  the  voluminous  correspon- 
dence referred  to,  and,  as  a  sanitary  engineer, 
took  much  interest  in  our  proceedings.  Nine  of 
the  above-named  gentlemen  have  since  died  ; 
the  others,  with  two  exceptions,  still  remain  on 
The  English  the  council  of  the  Society.  Such  was  the  origin 
S'S?''"  °^  "  '^^^  Cremation  Society  of  England."  It 
formed  in  organized   expressly  for  the  purpose  of 

AJ'ril,  1874.  »  .        .         .    r  ^-  i-l. 

obtaining  and  dissemmatmg  mformation  on  the 


Cremation  Society  formed  7 

subject,  and  of  adopting  the  best  method  of 
performing  the  process  as  soon  as  this  could  be 
determined,  provided  that  the  act  was  not  con- 
trary to  law.  In  this  Society  I  have  had  the 
honour  of  holding  the  office  of  president  from 
the  commencement  to  the  present  date  (1899), 
endeavouring  thus  to  serve  a  most  able  and 
efficient  council,  to  which  several  distinguished 
additions  have  been  made  during  this  period. 
I  am  thus  well  acquainted  with  its  labours  and 
their  results,  and  with  each  step  in  its  history.  ' 

The  membership  of  the  Society  was  consti- 
tuted by  subscription  to  the  following  declara- 
tion, carefully  drawn  so  as  to  ensure  approval  of 
a  principle,  rather  than  adhesion  to  any  specific 
practice  : — 

"  We  disapprove  the  present  custom  of  bury-  Declaration 

adopted. 

ing  the  dead,  and  desire  to  substitute  some 
mode  which  shall  rapidly  resolve  the  body  into 
its  component  elements  by  a  process  which  can- 
not offend  the  living,  and  shall  render  the 
remains  absolutely  innocuous.  Until  some 
better  method  is  devised,  we  desire  to  adopt 
that  usually  known  as  Cremation." 

And  the  conditions  of  membership  are: —  rhecon- 

T         All-*  1  •  ditions  of 

1. — Acinesion  by  signature  to  the  above  inciitbcrshif)- 
declaration. 

II— The  payment  of  an  annual  subscription 
of  one  guinea,  or  a  single  payment  of  ten 


4 


8 


Modern  Cremation 


Subsequent 
additions  to 
cotaicil. 


Legal 

opinions 

taken. 


Search  for 
a  site. 


guineas,  which  latter  confers  the  right  to  crema- 
tion at  death,  without  fee,  if  a  written  notice 
is  signed  by  the  subscriber  and  deposited  with 
the  Society  when  the  subscription  is  made. 

In  reference  to  the  additions  above  referred 
to,  let  it  be  stated  here  that  in  1875,  we  added 
to   our   number    Mrs.   Rose   Crawshay,  Mr. 
Higford  Burr,  Rev.  J.  Long,  Mr.  W.  Robinson, 
and  the  Rev.  Brooke  Lambert.  Subsequently, 
and  in  order  of  date  of  appointment,  followed 
'the   Rt.    Hon.   Lord    Bramwell  ;    Sir  Chas. 
Cameron,  M.P.  ;   Dr.  Farquharson,  M.P. ;  Sir 
Douglas  Galton  ;  Rt.  Hon.  Lord  Playfair ;  Mr. 
Martin  Ridley  Smith;    Mr.  Jas.  A.  Budgett  ; 
Mr.  Edmund  Yates;  Mr.  J.  S.  Fletcher  ;  Mr.  J. 
C.  Swinburne-Hanham,  hon.  sec.  ;  His  Grace 
the  Duke  of  Westminster  (on  Lord  Bramwell's 
death) ;  and  Sir  Arthur  Arnold,  L.C.C.,  in  the 
room  of  Sir  Spencer  Wells,  deceased,  joined 
more  recently. 

The  council  of  the  Society  commenced  opera- 
tions by  submitting  a  case  to  legal  authorities 
of  high  standing,  and  received  two  opinions, 
maintaining  that  cremation  of  a  human  body 
was  not  an  illegal  act,  provided  no  nuisance  of 
any  kind  was  occasioned  thereby.  Thus  advised, 
an  arrangement  was  soon  after  concluded  with 
the  directors  of  one  of  the  great  cemeteries 
north  of  London  to  erect  on  their  property  a 


Site  for  Crematorium  found  9 

building  in  which  cremation  should  be  effectively 
performed.  This  site,  so  appropriate  for  its 
purpose,  and  so  well  placed  in  relation  to  neigh- 
bouring property,  etc.,  would  have  been  at  once 
occupied,  had  not  the  then  Bishop  of  Rochester, 
within  whose  jurisdiction  the  cemetery  lay, 
exercised  his  authority  by  absolutely  prohibiting 
the  proposed  addition. 

It  was  necessary,  therefore,  to  find  an  inde-  ivokinc: 

selected 

pendent  site,  and  the  council  naturally  sought 
it  at  Woking,  since  railway  facilities  for  the 
removal  of  the  dead  from  the  metropolitan 
district  already  existed  in  connection  with  the 
well-known  cemetery  there.    Accordingly,  in  and  a  free- 

1111       J    •  hold 

the  year  1878,  an  acre  of  freehold  land  m  a  /.urchascd. 
secluded  situation  was  purchased,  with  the  view 
of  placing  thereupon  a  furnace  and  apparatus 
of  the  most  approved  kind  for  effecting  the 
purpose. 

After  much  consideration  it  was  decided  to  corini's 

J  1     •  1     1         T-i      r  furnace 

adopt  the  apparatus   designed   by   rrofessor  adopted, 
Gorini,  of  Lodi,  Italy  ;   and  that  gentleman 
accepted  an  invitation  to  visit  this  country  for 
the   express   purpose   of  superintending  the 
erection  of  it,  and  the  plan  was  successfully  anderected 
carried  out  in   1879  by  the  late  Mr.  Eassie,  l-^j'""'^^ 
already  named  as  our  honorary  secretary. 

When  the  apparatus  was  finished,  it  was 
tested  by  Gorini  himself,  who  reduced  to  ashes 


What  it 
accotn 


lo  Modern  Cremation 

the  body  of  a  horse,  in  presence  of  several 
members  of  the  council,  with  a  rapidity  and 
completeness  which  more  than  fulfilled  their 
expectations.  This  experiment  foreshadowed 
the  result  which  numerous  actual  cremations 
have  since  realized,  namely,  that  by  this  process 
complete  combustion  of  an  adult  human  body 
pushes.  is  effected  in  from  one  to  two  hours,  and  is  so 
perfectly  accomplished  that  no  smoke  or  effluvia 
escapes  from  the  chimney  ;  a  very  large  propor- 
tion of  the  organic  matter  being  reduced  to 
harmless  gases,  plus  only  a  residue  of  pure  white, 
dry  ash,  which  is  absolutely  free  from  disagree- 
able character  of  any  kind.  Indeed,  regarded 
as  an  organic  chemical  product,  it  must  be 
considered  as  attractive  in  appearance  rather 
than  the  contrary.  The  process,  of  course,  is 
considerably  lengthened  if  the  body  is  enclosed 
in  a  thick  shell  or  coffin,  which  has  to  be  burned 
also. 

opposition         During  the  year  1879  the  Society  met  with 

to  cremation  .  . 

at  the  Home  strong  opposition  from  the  Home  Office,  and 
were  involved  in  a  long  correspondence,  not  of 
sufficient  interest  to  be  presented  here  either 
wholly  or  in  part.  But  it  resulted  in  our  re- 
questing an  interview  (by  deputation)  of  the 
President  and  two  other  members  of  the  Council 
with  the  Home  Secretary,  which  was  granted  ; 
and,  on  learning  his  views,  we  found  it  necessary 


Cremation  opposed  by  aitthorities    1 1 

to  give  an  assurance  that  no  cremation  should 
take  place  without  leave  first  obtained  from  the 
minister.  But  it  was  the  occasion  of  much 
labour  and  anxiety  to  the  working  members  of 
the  council,  and  of  disappointment  to  their 
hopes:  demanding  moreover,  on  the  score  of 
prudence,  a  patient  and  quiescent  policy  on  the 
part  of  the  council,  and  delaying  the  use  of  the 
building  for  a  few  years.  Thus  the  function  of 
the  Society  was  for  the  present  limited  to  the 
diffusing  of  information  respecting  the  subject 
among  the  general  public.  And  the  opportunity 
was  considered  favourable  for  publishing  the 
first  number  of  the  Society's  Transactions,  in 
the  course  of  this  year,  being  the  sixth  of  the 
Society's  existence.  No.  2  appeared  in  1885  ; 
No.  3  in  1890,  since  which  date  an  annual 
number  has  been  regularly  issued. 

My  friend  the  late  Sir  Spencer  Wells,  one  British 
of  the  most  active  members  of  the  council,  5''^"^?"!,. 

'   A  ssoctation 

brought  the   subject   prominently  before  the  1^2°- 
medical    profession    at   the   annual  meeting 
of  the  British  Medical  Association  at  Cam- 
bridge in  August,  1880,  and,  after  a  forcible 
statement  of  facts  and  arguments,  proposed  to 
forward  an  address  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  application 
asking  permission  to  use  the  crematory  under  "^fjHmn/" 
strict  regulations.    This  was  largely  signed  and  -^''^'''^'"'■J'- 
duly  transmitted,  achieving,  however,  no  imme- 


12 


Modern  Cremation 


Recordof  diatc  rcsult.  But  in  various  quarters,  and  at 
'onth^"'^^^^  different  times  during  this  period,  advocacy  by 
subject.  means  of  essays,  articles  in  journals,  lectures, 
etc.,  had  arisen  spontaneously,  no  organization 
having  been  set  on  foot  for  the  purpose  ;  several 
members  of  the  council,  however,  taking  part  in 
these  proceedings.* 

*  A  brief  record  of  works  issued  at  this  early  period  of  the 
Society's  history,  chiefly  by  members  of  the  council,  is  given 
below. 

"  Cremation  :  the  Treatment  of  the  Body  after  Death."  By 
Sir  Henry  Thompson,  F.R.C.S.  London:  1874.  Contemporary 
Review. 

"  Burial  or  Cremation."  By  Dr.  P.  H.  Holland.  1874. 
Contemporary  Review. 

Sermon  delivered  at  Westminster  Abbey.  By  the  Bishop  of 
Lincoln.    London  :  1874. 

"Cremation,  and  its  Bearings  on  Public  Health."  Illus- 
trated. By  W.  Eassie,  C.E.  London  :  Smith,  Elder  and  Co. 
1875. 

"Ashes  to  Ashes:  A  Cremation  Prelude."  By  the  Rev. 
H.  R.  Haweis,  M.A.    London:  1875. 

"  On  the  Disposal  of  the  Dead."  By  Dr.  Richardson,  F.R.S. 
London  :  1875. 

"  A  Contribution  to  the  Subject  of  Cremation."  By  Dr. 
Albert  J.  Bernays,  M.A.    London:  1875. 

Cremation — Numerous  Articles  in  British  Medical  Journal, 
Medical  Record,  2lVl^  Sanitary  Record.  By  Ernest  Hart.  1875 
to  recent  date. 

"Cremation,  a  Sanitary  Institution."  (Leamington  Congress 
Reports.)    By  W.  Eassie,  C. E.    London  :  1877. 

"  The  Asserted  Loss  of  Ammonia  caused  by  the  Cremation 
of  Bodies."    By  W.  Eassie,  C.E.    Sanitary  Re- ord,]z.rM.'Axy 
1878. 

Transactions  of  the  Cremation  Society,  and  Reports,  from 
the  earliest  time  to  the  present. 

"Cremation  or  Burial."  By  Sir  T,  Spencer  Wells,  Bart. 
Cambridge:  1880. 


Progress  of  Cremation  abroad  13 

Meantime  the  progress  of  cremation  abroad  Pro,re.^ 
may  be  again  referred  to.  The  first  cremation 
of  a  human  body  effected  in  a  closed  receptacle, 
with  the  object  of  carrying  off  or  destroying 
offensive  products,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Dresden  example  referred  to,  took  place  at 
Milan  in  January,  1876,  and  was  followed  by  cremation 

'  II-  «^  Milan  in 

another  in  April,  the  agent  adopted  bemg  gas. 
The  next  occurring  there,  in  March,  1877,  was  {gj'^'' 
accomplished  in  like  manner,  but  by  employing 
ordinary  fuel.  It  was  in  Milan  also,  in  Sep- 
tember following,  that  the  first  cremation  was 
performed  by  the  improved  furnace  of  Gorini, 
already  mentioned.      In  the  preceding  year,  MHan 

'  Cremation 

1876,  the  Cremation  Society  of  Milan  had  been  society  in 
established,  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Pini, 
and  it  soon  became  popular  and  influential. 

"  God's  Acre  Beautiful ;  or,  The  Cemeteries  of  the  Future." 
2nd  Edition,  enlarged  ;  with  Engravings  and  Photographs  of 
Urns,  etc.    By  W.  Robinson,  F.  L.  S.    London:  1882. 

"  Cremation  in  its  Social  and  Sanitary  Aspects. "  By  the  Rev. 
Brooke  Lambert,  M.A.,  B.  C.L.  Lewisham  and  Blackheath 
Scientific  Association.  1883. 

"Cremation."  By  Dr.  J.  Comyns  Leach.  London: 
1884. 

'  '•  Cremation  :  Transactions  of  International  Health  Ex- 
hibition."   By  W.  Eassie,  C.E.  1884. 

"Lecture  on  Cremation."  By  the  Rev.  Charles  Voysey, 
M.A.    Southampton :  1884. 

"  Cremation,"  etc.,  a  reprint.  By  Sir  Henry  Thompson. 
3rd  Edition  ;  together  with  the  "  Paper  on  Cremation  or  Burial," 
by  Sir  T.  Spencer  Wells,  Bart.  ;  and  containing  also  the  Charge 
of  Sir  James  Stephen,  at  Cardiff,  declaring  Cremation  legal. 
London  :  Smith,  Elder  and  Co.  1884. 


14  Mode^'n  Cremation 


GorinPs 
furnace 
adopted  at 
Milan  first 
in  1880  ; 


others  in 
Italy  since. 


Rome. 


Bologna ; 

numbers 

cretnated. 


Ge?inany  ; 
the  Gotha 
crematory 
largely 
employed. 


During  that  year  a  handsome  building  was 
erected  with  the  view  of  using  gas  as  the  agent ; 
but  it  was  subsequently  enlarged,  namely  in 
1880,  to  make  room  for  two  Gorini  furnaces. 
These  were  soon  in  operation,  and  since  that 
date  many  bodies  have  been  burned  every  year, 
the  number  up  to  the  31st  of  December,  1886, 
being  463.  I  have  just  heard  from  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Cremation  Society  there  (June,  1899), 
that  since  the  last-named  date,  892  bodies 
have  been  cremated,  making  a  total  of  1,355. 
Soon  afterwards  similar  buildings  on  a 
smaller  scale  were  constructed  and  largely 
employed  in  other  parts  of  Italy  ;  for  example,  at 
Lodi,  Cremona,  Brescia,  Bologna,  Varese,  Padua 
and  Venice :  and  an  important  one,  which  is 
established  at  Rome  in  the  Campo-Varano  ceme- 
tery, was  first  used  in  April,  1883,  where  about 
800  cremations  have  taken  place  up  to  a  recent 
date.  At  Bologna  121  have  been  performed  up 
to  the  present  time  :  while  at  Venice,  during  the 
last  few  years,  forty-five  have  occurred,  chiefly 
among  persons  distinguished  by  birth  or  edu- 
cation. No  less  than  twenty-five  crematoria 
are  employed  throughout  Italy. 

In  Germany,  Gotha  was  the  first  place  at 
which  the  practice  was  regularly  followed.  A 
building  was  constructed  there,  under  permission 
of  the  Government,  the  first  cremation  taking 


Progress  of  Cremation  abroad  15 


place  in  January,  1879.  It  has  been  largely 
employed  since,  the  number  of  cremations 
amounting  to  600  up  to  the  31st  of  January, 
1889.  More  recently  I  learned  that  up  to  the 
end  of  1897,  2,700  cremations  had  taken  place 
throughout  the  country.  At  the  crematorium 
in  Ohlsdorf,  Hamburg,  427  cases  have  taken  Hamburg. 
place  to  present  date. 

At  Heidelberg,  a  well-constructed  crema-  Heidelberg. 
torium  was  opened  in  December,  1891.  The 
number  of  incinerations,  which  increases  every 
year,  amounts  to  676 — ^to  May,  1 899.  Another 
is  in  course  of  building  at  Mannheim;  and  signs 
of  a  growing  feeling  in  favour  of  cremation  are 
evident  in  various  parts  of  Germany,* 

Cremation  societies,  some  of  them  with 
numerous  members  and  displaying  much  activity, 
have  been  established  in  other  countries  ;  as  in  other 
Denmark,  where  the  first  cremation  in  a  Gorini  ^cZntriel 
apparatus  took  place  in  September,  1886  :  in 
Belgium,  Holland,  Switzerland,  Denmark,  Swe- 
den, and  Norway. 

Thus  in  Switzerland  a  crematorium  exists  swUzer- 

land. 

*  Cremation  in  Germany.— The  number  of  the  adherents 
of  cremation  in  Germany  appears  to  be  rapidly  increasing.  Ac- 
cording to  statistics  recently  published  there  are  at  present  37 
cremation  societies  in  the  German  Empire,  with  an  aggregate 
membership  of  37,600.  At  the  beginning  of  last  year  there 
were  only  20  such  societies,  with  a  membership  of  12,000.— 
Brit.  Med.  Journal,  June  3,  1899. 


i6 


Modern  Cremation 


Sweden . 


The  United 
States. 


A  ustralia  : 
an  impor- 
tant mozie- 
ment. 


at  Zurich  and  at  Bale  ;  one  in  Denmark  and  two 
in  Sweden  ;  and  at  Gothenburg  120  cremations 
had  taken  place  up  to  1890.  In  Sweden  the 
state  of  the  law  is  still  unfavourable  to  the 
practice  of  cremation.  Hence  bodies  were  at 
first  sent  to  Gotha  for  cremation  ;  but  since 
1887,  at  Stockholm  and  Gothenburg,  cremations 
have  taken  place  amounting  up  to  the  latest  date 
to  615  (1899).  The  Cremation  Societies  are  ex- 
tremely large.  It  is  claimed  that  the  members 
are  more  numerous  than  in  any  other  country. 

I  believe  about  twenty  crematoria  exist  in 
the  United  States,  well  organised,  and  some 
beautifully  surrounded  and  picturesquely  placed. 
That  at  San  Francisco  numbered  325  cremations 
during  1898,  a  total  of  1,071  in  six  years. 

In  Australia,  the  Hon.  J.  M.  Creed,  a  well- 
known  physician  in  Sydney,  has  warmly  ad- 
vocated the  practice,  which  has  numerous  sup- 
porters there.  He  moved  the  second  reading  of 
a  bill,  to  establish  and  regulate  cremation,  in 
the  House  of  Assembly,  June,  1886,  in  an  able 
speech,  pointing  out  the  dangerous  proximity 
of  neighbouring  cemeteries  to  their  rapidly 
developing  city,  and  giving  instances  in  which 
great  risk  had  been  already  incurred.  He  cited 
in  illustration  the  occurrence  of  pestilence  thus 
produced  among  the  rapidly  growing  population 
in  the  suburbs  of  New  York  and  other  American 


Cremation  at  Paris 


17 


cities.  The  act  was  approved  by  the  Legis- 
lative Council,  but  failed  to  pass  the  House  of 
Assembly. 

In  Paris,  projects  for  performing  cremation  The  Paris 

trema- 

vvere  discussed  for  some  years  before  one  was  toriiim. 
adopted.    At  length,  in  1886-7,  a  crematorium 
of  considerable  size  was  constructed  under  the 
direction  of  the  municipal  council,  in  the  well- 
known  cemetery  of  Pere  la  Chaise.  The  entrance 
of  the  building  leads  into  a  spacious  hall,  sufficing 
for  the  purposes  of  a  chapel.    In  the  side  wall 
opposite  the  entrance  are  three  openings,  each 
conducting  to  an  apparatus  constructed  on  the 
Gorini  principle.    It  was  first  employed,  by  way 
of  testing  its  powers,  on  the  22nd  of  October, 
1887,  for  the  bodies  of  two  men  who  died  of 
small-pox.    The  .result  was  very  satisfactory, 
but  as  the  demand  for  cremation  soon  became' 
large,  a  new  furnace  was  constructed,  and  used 
in  preference  to  those  previously  made.    I  had 
an  opportunity  of  examining  it,  and  of  seeing 
several  cremations  performed   there  in  1891. 
The  interior  of  a  chamber  is  kept  constantly  at 
a  bright  red  heat,  by  burning  coke  in  a  closed 
reservoir  outside,  the  products  of  which,  chiefly 
carbonic  oxide,  pass  through  in  a  state  of  com- 
bustion and  rapidly  consume  the  body.    This  is 
now  being  superseded  by  a  chamber  containing 
hot  air  only,  supplied  by  a  furnace  working  on 

C 


i8 


Modern  Cremation 


the  regeneratory  principle,  which  acts  still  more 
rapidly  than  the  preceding.  At  the  date  of  my 
visit,  the  cremations  in  Paris  were  taking  place 
at  the  rate  of  about  three  or  four  hundred  a 
month  and  were  increasing  in  number  monthly. 
A  total  of  more  than  three  thousand  had  then 
been  reached. 

Latest  In  Paris  the  report  to  the  close  of  the  year 

S?.^"^      1 898  presents  a  very  large  number  of  cremations, 
upwards  of  4,000,  including  among  them  231 
cremations  of  private  individuals,  and  2,496  of  un- 
claimed bodies  from  the  hospitals  and  elsewhere.* 
AnhnM-  I  shall  now  return  to  the  history  of  our  own 

Ir//""'  Society,  at  a  time  when  it  was  probable  that 
occurred  in   g^^tive  Operations  might  once  more  be  resumed. 

In  1882  the  council  was  requested  by  Captain 
Hanham,  Blandford,  Dorsetshire,  to  undertake 
the  cremation  of  two  deceased  members  of  his 
family,  who  had  left  express  instructions  to  that 
effect.  The  Home  Secretary  of  that  day  being 
applied  to,  he  reiterated  objections  which  had 
been  made  three  years  before,  and  the  Society 
was  unable  to  comply.  The  bodies  had  been 
preserved  for  some  years  in  a  mausoleum  on 
the  estate,  pending  a  favourable  solution  of  the 

*  I  am  indebted  for  this  report,  as  well  as  for  some  of  the 
other  records,  to  my  friend  M  Georges  Salomon,  the  well- 
known  Secretary  of  the  "  Societe  pour  la  Propagation  dc 
I'Incindration,"  Paris. 


England,  in 
1882 


Cremations:  Dorset,  Wales  19 


difficulty.    This  failing,  Captain  Hanham  took  through  the 
leave  to  erect  a  crematorium  there,  and  to  carry  ^clpiain 
out  the  wishes  of  his  relatives,  and  did  so  with 
complete  success,  the  date  being  October,  1882. 
He  himself  dying  about  a  year  later,  was  cre- 
mated there  also.    This,  as  well  as  the  foregoing 
proceedings,  were  carried  out  under  the  super- 
vision of  Mr.  J.  C.  Swinburne- Hanham,  our  pre- 
sent able  and  indefatigable  honorary  secretary. 
The  Government  meantime  made  no  sign  ;  no 
notice,  in  fact,  was  taken  of  the  proceeding  by 
any  authority,   although  the  occurrence  was 
described  in  the  public  journals,  and  excited 
much  comment.    But  in  the  following  year  a  TheWcUh 
cremation  took  place  in  Wales  on  the  body  of  a  ^'IZ^u 
child,  on  which  the  ceremony  was  performed  by 
the  father  in  defiance  of  the  coroner's  authority, 
and  legal  proceedings  were  taken  against  him  in 
consequence.    The  result  was  that,  in  February,  leading  to 
1884.  Mr.  Justice  Stephen,  the  case  having  come  SiSf 
before  him  at  the  assizes,  delivered  his  well-  ^^gf'""" 
known  judgment,  declaring  that  cremation  is  a  '  ' 
legal  procedure  provided  no  nuisance  were  caused 
thereby  to  others.    Upon  this,  the  council  of 
our  Society  declared  themselves  absolved  from 
their  promise  to  the  Home  Office,  and  publicly 
offered  to  use  their  crematorium  for  those  who 
desired  to  adopt  the  method,  laying  down  strict 
rules  for  a  careful  inquiry  into  the  cause  of  death 


20 


Modern  Cremation 


in  the  case  of  every  applicant  ;  and  taking  pre- 
cautions to  prevent  the  destruction  of  a  body 
which  might  have  met  death  by  unfair  means. 
The  same  Only  two    months  later,  on  the   30th  of 

ZZs/fzL  April,  1884,  Dr.  Cameron  (now  Sir  Charles 
Pariiavicnt  Camcron,  Bart),  the  member  for  Glasgow,  and 
one  of  the  council  of  our  Society,  brought  a 
bill  into  the  House  of  Commons  "  to  provide  for 
the  regulation  of  cremation  and  other  modes  of 
disposal  of  the  dead."    He  proposed  to  make 
burial  illegal  without  medical  certificate,  except- 
ing for  the  present,  certain  thinly  populated  and 
to  regulate    remotc  districts.    No  crematory  to  be  used  until 
crematiofi,    ^^^^^^^^  ^nd  Hcensed  by  the  Secretary  of  State ; 

no  body  to  be  burned  except  at  a  licensed  place 
in  accordance  with  regulations  to  be  made  by 
the  Secretary  of  State.  Two  medical  certificates 
to  be  necessary  in  the  case  of  cremation,  and  if 
the  cause  of  death  cannot  be  certified,  an  inquest 
by  the  coroner  shall  be  held.  Dr.  Cameron  sup- 
ported the  proposals,  by  an  amount  of  evidence 
of  various  kinds  which  amply  warranted  the 
strongly  course  he  had  taken.  Dr.  Farquharson,  M.P. 
supported  in        Abcrdccn,  another  member  of  the  council, 

debate,  and     ^'-"^    j.^^^  , 

seconded  the  motion,  which  was  opposed  by 
the  Home  Secretary,  to  whom  Sir  Lyon  Playfair 
made  an  able  reply,  demonstrating,  by  a  com- 
parison of  the  chemical  effects  of  combustion 
with  those  of  slow  decomposition  in  earth,  the 


Cremation  :  Horise  of  Commons     2 1 


superiority  of  the  former.  The  bill  was  opposed 
not  only  by  the  Government,  but  the  leader  of  the 
opposition  took  the  same  course ;  nevertheless,  no 
less  than  79  members  voted  in  favour  of  the  bill  hy  a  urge 

-      7iiinorUy  on 

on  the  second  reading,  to  149  agamst— a  result  division. 
far  more  favourable  than  we  had  ventured  to 
hope  for. 

The  following  information  came  to  hand  as  these 
pages  were  going  to  press.  It  should  be  read  in  connec- 
tion with  other  records  of  cremation  abroad,  at  pages  13 
to  18. 

Mr.  Louis  Lange,  president  of  the  "  Fresh  Recent 
Pond"  Crematorium,  New  York,  obliges  me  Zrnmtifn 
with  the  following  report  of  the  cremations  there  ^Yori^''"" 
during  the  last  six  years  : — 


I.  Year  ending  June, 

1894  . 

•  243 

2. 

1895  . 

.  296 

3- 

1896  . 

.  330 

4-        „  „ 

1897  . 

•  331 

5- 

1898  . 

.  466 

6. 

1S99  . 

.  520 

22 


Modern  Cremation 


CHAPTER  II. 

HISTORY  CONTINUED  I  884-9 1. 


The  English 
Society  de- 
termined to 
use  their 
cretitatory. 


demanding 
compliance 
ivitli  certain 
conditions, 
as/ollows :  - 
I.  The  aj>- 
plication. 


The  English  Society  give  public  notice  to  perform  Cremation  at 
Woking — Conditions  and  forms  necessary — First  Cremation 
March,  1885 — The  numbers  cremated  annually  afterwards — 
No  coffins  henceforth — only  a  light  pine  shell— Mode  of 
procedure— Erection  of  chapel,  &c. — Public  subscriptions — 
Largely  aided  by  the  Duke  of  Bedford— Crematorium 
described — London  office — Cinerary  urns — in  variety. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the  English  Society- 
issued  a  pubHc  notice,  formulating  certain  con- 
ditions on  which  they  would  undertake  to 
employ  the  crematorium  at  Woking.  They 
stated  that  great  care  and  absolute  compliance 
with  their  conditions  were  necessary,  because 
"  they  are  aware  the  chief  practical  objection 
which  can  be  urged  against  the  employment  of 
cremation  consists  in  the  opportunity  which  it 
offers,  apart  from  such  precautions,  for  removing 
the  traces  of  poison  or  other  injury  which  are 
retained  by  an  undestroyed  body." 

These  conditions  were  expressed  in  the  follow- 
ing terms : — 

I .  An  application  in  writing  must  be  made  by 
the  executors  or  nearest  relative  of  the  deceased 


The  Society  performs  Cremation  23 

—unless  it  has  been  made  in  writing  by  the 
deceased  person  himself  during  life— stating  that 
the  deceased  expressed  no  objection  to  be  cre- 
mated after  death.  They  must  furnish  the 
name  of  the  medical  man  who  has  attended 
the  deceased,  in  order  that  he  may  receive  an 
official  communication  from  the  secretary  before 
certifying. 

2.  A  certificate  must  be  sent  by  a  qualifiied  2.  Thecer. 

tificates. 

medical  man,  who,  having  attended  the  deceased 
until  the  time  of  death,  can  state  without  hesi- 
tation that  the  cause  of  death  was  natural,  and 
what  that  cause  was.  Another  qualified  medical 
man,  if  possible  a  resident  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood  of  the  deceased,  is  also  required 
to  certify,  after  independently  examining  the 
facts  within  his  reach,  that  to  the  best  of  his 
belief  the  death  was  due  to  natural  causes.* 

To  each  of  these  gentlemen  is  forwarded,  be- 
fore certifying,  a  letter  of  "  instructions  "  marked 
"  private,"  signed  by  the  president  of  the  Society, 
calling  special  attention  to  the  important  nature 
of  the  service  required,  in  view  of  a  proposed 
cremation. 

3.  If  no  medical  man  attended  during  the  ill-  3.  Further 

inquiries 

ness,  an  autopsy  must  be  made  by  a  medical  when  neces- 
officer  approved  by  the  Society,  or  the  cremation 
cannot  take  place ;   unless  the  circumstances 
*  See  Appendix  B. 


2  4  Modern  Cremation 


First  C7'e- 
viation  at 


rendering  a  coroner's  inquest  desirable,  have 
led  to  that  result,  and  a  jury  has  determined 
that  the  patient  died  from  natural  causes. 
These  conditions  being  fulfilled,  the  council  of 
the  Society  still  reserve  the  right  in  any  case 
of  refusing  permission  for  the  performance  of 
cremation  if  they  think  it  desirable  to  do  so. 

Public  attention  had  thus  been  called  to  the 
subject ;  and  the  Woking  crematory  was  used 
vvoking  in  for  the  first  time  on  the  26th  of  March,  1885.  The 
result  was  completely  successful  in  every  detail. 
The  subject  of  it  "  was  a  lady  well  known  in 
literary  and  scientific  circles"  {Times,  March 
27th).  She  had  left  express  instructions  in  her 
will  that  she  should  be  cremated  by  the  Society 
at  her  death.  Two  other  cremations  took  place 
in  this  year,  making  three  for  the  year  1885,  the 
tenth  year  of  the  Society's  existence.  During 

1886,  ten  bodies  were  burned,  five  male  and  five 
female,  one  of  them  that  of  a  Brahmin.  During 

1 887,  thirteen  bodies  were  burned,  one  only  being 
that  of  a  female.  During  1888,  twenty -eight 
bodies  were  burned,  fifteen  being  female.  During 
1889,  forty-six  bodies  were  burned,  nineteen 
being  female.  During  1890,  fifty-four  bodies  were 
burned,  twenty-one  being  female. 

The  progress  since  1 890  to  present  date  is 
appended  here  as  being  convenient  for  com- 
parison. 


The  Numbers  yearly  Cremated  25 


place  between  1885  and  1890  inclusive,  give 


The  foregoing  cremations  specified,  taking  a  total  0/ 

twelve 
liundrcil 
and 
eighty- 
three 

cremations 
has  been 
reached  up 
to  the  end  of 
1898. 


A  total  of 

.      .       .  -154 

In  1 89 1  the  cremations  were  99 

,,  1892 

104 

„  1893 

lOI 

,,  1894 

125 

1895 

150 

„  1896 

137 

„  1897 

173 

,,  1898 

240 

Total  .       .  1,283 

The  complete  incineration  is  accomplished  by 
this  apparatus  without  escape  of  smoke  or  other 
offensive  product,  and  with  extreme  ease  and 
rapidity.    The  ashes,  which  weigh  about  three  The  ashes 
or  four  pounds,  are  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  yZiyTr  'e- 
friends,  in  order  to  be  removed.    A  vase  of  pot-  '"^''^/'"'^ 

^         jriejids  of 

tery,  modelled  after  an  ancient  Roman  cinerary  deceased. 
urn,  is  provided  for  the  purpose  without  charge. 
This  may  be  buried  in  the  grounds  of  the  crema- 
torium, in  a  spot  set  apart,  maintained  and  marked 
by  a  stone  for  a  long  term  of  years,  on  payment 
of  a  trifling  fee.  Or  a  niche  in  the  hall  of  the 
crematorium  may  be  secured  on  conditions  which 
can  be  learned  on  application  at  the  offices  of  the 
Society.  A  large  number  ofsuch  cells  or  recesses 
each  capable  of  receiving  an  ornamental  urn  or 
sarcophagus,  will  be  constructed  in  a  cloister 
which  it  is  proposed  shortly  to  build  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  providing  a  suitable  receptacle 


26 


Modern  Cremation 


for  such  deposits.  Or,  if  desired,  the  ashes  may 
be  restored  at  once  to  the  soil,  being  now  per- 
fectly innocuous,  if  that  mode  of  dealing  with 
them  is  preferred.  One  friend  of  the  deceased 
at  least  may  be  present  in  the  cremation  cham- 
ber during  the  process. 
Mode  of  Practically,  what  takes  place  when  an  applica- 

proceeding  ^.^^  crcmation  has  been  made  is  as  follows  :  — 
crcvtatwn  is  pj^.^^  .  -pj^^  j^^^^j^  ^^^^      recordcd  at  the  local 

appCiea Jor. 

Registrar's  office,  and  the  usual  certificate  that 
this  has  been  done  must  be  produced.  Secondly  : 
special  evidence  from  the  medical  attendant  of 
the  deceased  in  reply  to  several  important  ques- 
tions, on  a  form  which  is  supplied  at  the  crema- 
tion office,  as  well  as  that  from  another  and  in- 
dependent medical  man,  is  obtained  in  writing. 
Their  attention  is  called  by  letter  from  the  Secre- 
tary to  the  importance  of  an  inquiry  respecting 
poison  or  violence  as  a  cause  of  death.  The  forms 
containing  it  are  in  every  case  submitted  to  the 
president  of  the  Society,  who,  acting  on  behalf 
of  the  council,  decides  whether  or  not  the  crema- 
tion may  take  place.  The  papers  being  approved, 
the  undertaker  can  remove  the  body  in  a  hearse 
from  any  house  or  station  within  the  four-mile 
radius  from  Charing  Cross  to  the  Society's 
cemetery  at  Woking  for  a  reasonable  fixed  sum. 
Or  he  can  arrange  for  its  transport,  together  with 
that  of  any  number  of  friends  and  attendants 


Method  of  Proceeding  Advised  27 


desired,  by  rail,  direct  from  Waterloo  Station  to 
Woking.* 

It  is  strongly  recommended  to  all  applicants  Recommen- 

cd         I.      1 J  dations 

that  no  large,  heavy,  or  ornamental  cofifins  should  ^  the 
be  employed  for  the  purpose,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
only  a  thin,  light,  pine  shell;  as  in  the  former 
case  cremation  cannot  take  place  without  re- 
moving the  body,  and  in  the  latter  there  is  no 
necessity  to  do  so,  and  accordingly  the  practice 
is  to  burn  the  whole  together. 

But,  after  a  considerable  experience  of  crema- 
tion both  here  and  abroad,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say 
that  I  greatly  prefer  the  plan  of  completely  en- 
veloping the  body  (already  habited  in  the  ordinary 
shroud)  in  a  long  narrow  sheet  of  stout  flannel, 
say  10  feet  by  5  or  6,  previously  placed  length 
ways  over  a  simple  empty  shell.  The  last  act  sest  vietiwd 
before  finally  closing  the  shell  should  be  that  of  ^thctody 
folding  the  sides  of  the  sheet  across  the  body, 
one  overlapping  the  other,  so  as  to  cover  it 
entirely.  Thus  the  folded  ends  of  the  sheet  will 
extend  some  two  feet  or  so,  above  and  below 
the  head  and  feet  of  the  body  respectively. 
Above  each  of  these  points,  a  piece  of  stout 
white  tape  or  white  web  should  be  firmly  tied 
round  the  folded  sheet,  and  in  two  places  round 

*  See  Appendix  B  for  all  that  relates  to  the  facilities 
afforded  by  the  Society -also  a  little  work  containing  the  same, 
which  may  be  had  free  on  application  at  the  Society's  Oflke, 
324  Regent  Street,  W. 


28 


Modern  Cremation 


secured  in 
a  sheet. 


which 
should  be 
made  of 
wool. 


the  covered  body  also,  so  as  to  maintain  the 
sheet  in  its  place.    These  ends  are  then  turned 
over  towards  each  other  into  the  shell  before 
the  lid  is  adjusted  and  fastened.  Immediately 
before  the  act  of  cremation  commences,  the 
shell  should  be  opened,  the  body  be  carefully 
and  reverently  lifted  out  of  the  shell  by  a  bearer 
at  each  end  of  the  sheet,  a  third  supporting  the 
centre,  and  be  placed  on  the  frame  which  enters 
the  crematorium.    By  this  means  the  ashes  of 
the  body  are  not  mixed  with  those  of  the  shell, 
which  must  necessarily  be  the  case  if  both  are 
burned  together,  requiring  a  tedious  and  some- 
what  imperfect  procedure  to  separate  them. 
Moreover,  the  wood  hinders  and  prolongs  the 
work  of  cremation  proper.    The  sheet  should 
be  made  of  wool  ;  because  its  constituents  being 
animal  are  largely  dissipated  in  combustion, 
whereas  the  vegetable  fibre  yields  and  leaves  a 
certain  quantity  of  carbon  in  the  form  of  ash. 
In  the  draught  of  a  powerful  furnace,  some  of 
this  fine  matter  is  no  doubt  carried  away. 

Nothing  is  better  than  a  common  not  heavy 
blanket  to  envelope  the  body,  in  the  manner 

described  above.    Or  a  length  of  very  stout 

good  flannel  may  be  substituted. 

The  charge  made  by  the  Society  for  effecting 

cremation  is  moderate,  and  will  be  made  less 

when  the  demand  has  considerably  increased. 


Necessary  Arrangements  Made  Easy  29 

At  present  the  entire  apparatus  has  to  be  put 
into  action  for  a  single  cremation,  involving  an 
amount  of  labour  and  expenditure  which  would 
almost  suffice  for  three  or  four  repetitions  of 
the  process,  if  they  occurred  during  a  single  day. 

In  1887,  the  council  made  public  the  follow-  Engage- 
ing  resolution,  in  the  form  of  a  "minute  of  "offered to 
council,"  which  after  due  consideration  had  been  J^^^^^^^^ 
passed:  "In  the  event  of  any  person  desiring,  ensure o-c- 

^  ^    i  mation  at 

during  life,  to  be  cremated  at  death,  the  Society  death; 
is  prepared  to  accept  a  donation  from  him  or 
her  of  ten  guineas,  undertaking,  in  consideration 
thereof,  to  perform  the  cremation  without  the 
customary  fee,  provided  all  the  conditions  set 
forth  in  the  forms  issued  by  the  Society  are 
complied  with."  This  payment  moreover,  con- 
stitutes the  donor  a  life-member  of  the  Society, 
and  he  receives  the  annual  report  and  all  docu- 
ments, etc.,  issued  to  the  ordinary  annual  sub- 
scribers. 

A  considerable  number  of  persons  have  has  been 
adopted  this  course  in  order  to  express  emphati-  ^Z^la 
cally  their  wishes  in  relation  to  this  matter,  and 
to  ensure  as  far  as  possible  the  accomplishment 
of  them.    The  Society  undertakes  to  do  their  ho.v  this 
utmost  to  facilitate  the  subscriber's  object  ;  and  Z'entT/j^s 
probably  no  better  mode  of  effecting  the  pur- 

°  ■'■  the  realiza 

pose  can  be  selected  than  that  of  placing  a  tiono/ 
written  declaration  of  the  testator's  wish,  to-  wr"'' 


30 


Modern  Cremation 


gether  with  the  Society's  signed  undertaking,  in 
the  hands  of  the  friends  who  are  to  act  as 
executors.  Hence,  on  the  decease  of  a  sub- 
scriber, the  Society  undertakes  to  send,  without 
further  charge,  an  agent  when  required  to  the 
family  residence,  if  within  twenty  miles  of 
Charing  Cross,  in  order  to  supply  information 
and  make  all  the  necessary  arrangements.  In 
this  way  survivors,  who  may  naturally  anticipate 
considerable  difficulty  in  complying  with  a 
request,  on  the  part  of  the  deceased,  to  be 
cremated,  being  often  ignorant  even  of  the 
mode  of  making  an  inquiry,  may  be  spared  all 
anxiety  as  to  the  manner  of  carrying  his  design 
into  execution.  Where  the  distance  is  greater 
than  twenty  miles,  all  information  will  be 
supplied  by  letter,  or  an  agent  sent  for  a  very 
moderate  charge. 
Lamented  During  the  year  1888  the  Society  lost  by 
tecrctiy'  sudden  death  their  much-valued  Honorary 
Mr.Eassic.  Secretary,  Mr.  William  Eassie.  The  deep 
interest  he  took  in  all  the  work  described,  his 
ceaseless  attention  to  the  arranging  of  practical 
details  at  Woking,  and  the  multifarious  corre- 
spondence, etc.,  he  conducted  during  fourteen 
years,  demand  a  warm  tribute  of  grateful 
acknowledgement  here,  on  the  part  of  his  late 
friends  and  colleagues  on  the  council. 

It  had  long  been  the  desire  of  the  council 


Chapel  for  Service  Erected  31 
to  render  the  crematory  established  at  Woking  At  first  the 

11  1     J  crematory 

as  complete  as  possible.     Although  they  had 

only  existed 

reason  hitherto  to  be  satisfied  with  the  capa-  j^J/^Jj-' 
bility  of  the  apparatus  employed,  and  with  the  ^"^sluct 
results  obtained,  recent  improvements  upon  the  other 

btiildings. 

original  design  of  Gorini  had  been  made  in 
furnace-construction,  and  these  were  now  applied 
there.  But  they  were  especially  desirous  to 
provide  buildings  suitable  for  the  performance 
of  religious  service  at  the  crematory  when  re- 
quired, besides  waiting-rooms  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  friends  and  other  visitors.  Before  these 
were  erected,  a  funeral  service  had  in  most  cases 
been  performed  before  the  arrival  of  the  body 
at  Woking ;  although  in  some  instances  it  was 
held  in  the  grounds  of  the  crematory. 

It  was  during  this  year  1888  that  the  council  Aj,ji,eai 
decided  on  making  a  special  appeal  to  the  X^f" 
public  for  funds  to  carry  out  the  above-named 
purpose.  The  list  was  headed  by  a  hundred 
guineas  each  from  the  Duke  of  Bedford  and 
the  Duke  of  Westminster,  who  warmly  testified 
their  interest  in  the  project. 

Plans  were  accordingly  prepared  by  Mr.  resulting  in 
E.  F.  C.  Clarke,  the  architect,  in  readiness  for  ^'''''■f'" 

oj  a  spacious 

our  purpose.    After  a  few  months'  time,  about 
A  1,500  to  £  1,600  (including  £^^00  from  the  ro 
distinguished  engineer,  James  Nasmyth)  were 
received  in  response  to  the  appeal.    But  this 


7Vaititi!i 
rooms. 


32  Modern  Cremation 


sum  was  far  less  than  our  requirements.  At 
this  crisis  we  were  largely  indebted  to  the 
generous  aid  of  the  late  lamented  Duke  of 
Bedford,  [the  ninth  Duke]  who  took  great 
interest  in  the  progress  of  the  designs,  and  in 
the  perfecting  of  all  arrangements  connected 
Generotts      with  the  process  of  cremation.    Thanks  to  the 

aid  of  the  i  , 

late  Dtike  of 

JJuke  s  countenance  and  support,  which  he  was 
Bedford.  g^g^  ready  to  afford  me,  as  president  of  the 
society,  as  well  as  to  the  personal  efforts  which 
the  members  of  a  most  efficient  council  made  in 
its  behalf,  the  present  satisfactory  condition  of 
our  enterprise  has  been  attained.  Rut  I  must 
be  permitted  to  state  that  his  Grace  the  Duke 
of  Bedford,  besides  defraying  the  cost  of  the 
crematory  constructed  for  himself  and  his 
family,  gave  me  from  time  to  time,  as  funds 
were  required  to  complete  our  buildings,  sums 
amounting  to  no  less  than  ;^3,ooo,  and  further- 
more purchased  for  the  Society  half  an  acre  of 
ground  adjacent  to  our  property,  which  proved 
a  most  useful  addition.  Only  a  fortnight  before 
his  death,  he  suggested  that  we  required  an 
apparatus  for  warming  the  chapel,  and  re- 
quested me  to  get  what  I  thought  best,  and 
allow  him  to  have  the  pleasure  of  presenting  us 
with  it. 

Meantime,    tenders    had    been    at  once 
obtained,  contracts  made,  and  the  designs  were 


INTERIOR  OF  THE  CHAPEL 


The  Btnldings  Described 


33 


carried  out  with  much  care  and  in  a  very  sub- 
stantial manner. 

The  buildings  were  constructed  in  the  cha-  charaderof 
racter  of  English  thirteenth-century  Gothic, 
with  richly  traceried  windows,  agreeable  in 
appearance,  the  buildings  harmonizing  well 
with  the  surrounding  woods.  The  body  of  the 
structure  is  in  red  brick,  relieved  to  a  large 
extent  by  Bath  stone ;  and  now  that  the  grass 
terraces  and  gardens  have  been  completed,  the 
general  effect  is  extremely  good.  The  central  Thehaiior 
hall,  or  chapel,  is  forty-eight  feet  long  by 
twenty-four  feet  six  inches  wide.  The  vista 
of  the  roof,  which  is  twenty-eight  feet  from  the 
floor  to  the  top  panelling,  is  thus  left  intact. 
The  hall  is  so  arranged  that  those  who  attend 
see  and  hear  nothing  of  the  proceedings  in  the 
crematory  proper.  Its  ceiling  is  richly  panelled, 
and  will,  as  well  as  the  walls,  be  suitably  deco- 
rated ;  the  windows  are  filled  with  stained  glass. 
A  convenient  ante-room  and  porch  are  arranged  waiting. 
in  this  space  by  the  introduction  of  richly 
panelled  and  moulded  screens.  Suitable  lava- 
tories, etc.,  are  provided. 

In  connection  with  these  buildings  is  another,       n  ,  x 

°  '    The  Duke  of 

a  small  but  very  complete  crematory  already 
reterred  to  for  the  exclusive  possession  of  the  matory 
late  Duke  of  Bedford,  which  has  been  built  at 
his  expense  on  the  Society's  land.    It  was  used 

D 


private  ere- 


34 


Modern  Cremation 


for  the  first  time,  on  January  i8,  1891,  after  the 
lamented  death  of  his  Grace,  for  the  cremation 
of  his  remains,  in  accordance  with  express 
instructions  ;  and  it  now  remains  in  possession 
of  the  family  for  a  long  term  of  years  to  come. 
Society's      \  must  be  permitted  to  add  that  the  Society,  as 

debt  0/  ^ 

gratitude  to  Well  as  the  cause  of  cremation,  owe  a  debt  of 
^Be^ord."'^  gratitude  to  the  Duke  of  Bedford  which  can 
never  be  forgotten.  Indeed  it  is  impossible  to 
exaggerate  the  value  and  importance  of  his 
interest  in  our  work,  and  of  his  unceasing  kind- 
ness in  promoting  it  at  this  early  period  of  its 
history. 

Aiuhe  It  should  be  added  that  the  whole  of  the 

^property  is  Society's  property  constitutes  a  freehold  abso- 
'^andnn-  lutcly  without  incumbrancc,  and  that  it  is  vested 
incuwbcred  hands  of  trustccs. 

Description  The  drawing  placed  as  frontispiece  to  this 
"fpfele"*'^  volume  is  reproduced  from  a  sketch  by  the 
architect,  and  shows  the  hall  or  chapel  as  the 
loftiest  part  of  the  structure,  the  next  block 
with  the  chimney  being  the  chief  crematory, 
beyond  which  is  the  private  one  just  referred  to. 
The  waiting-rooms  are  on  the  further  side  of 
the  chapel. 

A  pretty  porter's  lodge,  situated  at  the 
entrance  of  the  well-wooded  grounds,  forms  the 
dwelling  of  the  superintendent  or  manager  of 
the  crematorium, 


! 


Description  of  the  Furnace  35 


The  furnace  employed  is  too  important  a  The 

r    \  •  TT7-   1  •  1      1    r  furnace. 

part  of  the  appomtments  at  Wokmg  to  be  left 
without  some  description.  It  may  be  defined 
as  a  well-constructed  reverberatory  furnace,  by 
which  means  a  sheet  of  flame  passes  over, 
around,  and  above  the  entire  body,  covering  its 
upper  surface  lengthways,  when  it  turns  down- 
wards and  takes  the  same  course  in  a  reversed 
direction  below.  This  condition  continues 
under  the  influence  of  the  powerful  draught 
produced  by  a  chimney  at  some  little  distance 
connected  by  a  flue,  the  base  of  the  chimney 
containing  a  coke  fire  which  accelerates  the 
draught  and  completely  decomposes  any 
effluvia  or  unconsumed  products  which  might 
otherwise  escape  at  the  summit.  Thanks  to 
this  arrangement,  all  smoke  is  consumed  and 
nothing  but  carbon-oxides  and  dioxides  are 
mixed  with  the  atmosphere.  Their  destination 
there  will  be  referred  to  and  traced  in  another 
part  of  the  work.    (Vide  Chapter  V.) 

The  current  annual  expenditure  is  consider-  current 
able.  The  wear  and  tear  of  the  furnace,  due  to 
the  intense  heat  necessarily  employed,  rapidly  '"'l^^'-o- 
occasions  dilapidation,  produced  by  the  repeated 
expansions  and  contractions  of  the  brickwork 
caused  by  the  alternate  heatings  and  coolings 
it  is  exposed  to.  Were  the  furnace  at  work 
every  day,  little   mechanical   change  in  the 

D  2 


36 


Modern  Cremation 


Increased 
moitber  of 
cremations 
will  greatly 
diminish 
cost. 


New 
London- 
offices. 


Proposed 
cloister for 
preserving 
cinerary 
wns. 


structure  from  the  causes  named  would  occur, 
and  far  less  repair  would  be  necessary,  the  cost 
of  cremation  will  much  diminish  when  three  or 
four  bodies  are  cremated  daily  instead  of  four 
to  six  weekly  as  at  present.    As  it  is  now  all 
expenses  are  fully  met  by  the  income  derived 
from  cremation  fees,  as  is  also  the  cost  of  the 
superintendent's  salary  and  occasional  assist- 
ance for  gardening,  etc.    From  this  source  also 
is  paid  the  rent  of  the  London  offices,  and  all 
service  and  other  charges  connected  therewith. 
These  have  recently  been  established  at  324 
Regent  Street,  where  the  resident  secretary  is 
on  duty  day  and  night  to  answer  inquiries,  and 
the  sometimes  urgent  calls  to  make  the  need- 
ful arrangements  for  a  cremation.    The  small 
income  contributed  by  annual  subscriptions  to 
the  Society  serves  to  defray  the  cost  of  printing 
prospectuses,   forms,   periodical  reports,   etc.  ; 
involving  an  amount  of  expenditure  requiring 
all  the  revenue  at  present  obtained  from  that 
source. 

In  order  to  complete  the  establishment  at 
Woking,  it  has  been  proposed  to  erect  a  hand- 
some cloister  in  a  style  corresponding  with 
that  of  the  building,  constructed  with  open 
arches  on  one  side,  to  be  protected  by  glass 
from  the  weather.  The  estimated  cost  is 
;^i,500  ;  and  the  object  is  to  offer  secure  and 


Examples  of  Cinerary  Urns  37 


appropriate  cells  for  the  protection  of  ashes, 
giving,  so  far  as  this  is  possible,  a  permanent 
interest  therein  to  the  family  of  the  deceased  if 
they  desire  it.  These  cells  might  be  of  various 
forms  and  sizes,  adapted  to  receive  a  cinerary 
vase  or  more  or  less  rectangular  casket  or 
sarcophagus.  A  single  cell  may  thus  be 
secured  ;  or  any  number  may  be  retained  as  a 
separate  group,  to  form  a  family  vault  if  required. 
Donations  are  wanted  to  enable  the  council  to 
carry  out  this  work. 

Examples  of  cinerary  urns  employed  in  various 
ancient  times  exist  in  great  abundance,  and  ^f'*'"^''^- 

°  '  cittcrnry 

they  vary  in  character  as  the  customs  and  rites 
of  the  locality  differed,  and  with  the  historic 
period  at  which  they  were  made.  Thus  "  urns  " 
of  many  kinds,  at  first  rude  in  workmanship, 
assumed  in  time  pleasing  forms,  and  were 
ornamented  with  simple  patterns.  Later  still 
appeared  the  vase-like  urns  adopted  by  the 
Greeks ;  but  few  of  these  are  suitable  for 
general  use  for  the  limited  areas  remaining 
among  the  crowded  populations  of  modern 
time.  Although  beautiful  in  form  and  admir- 
ably adapted  for  artistic  ornament,  they  are 
liable  to  be  easily  damaged,  and  necessarily 
occupy  considerable  space.  More  safe  in  regard 
of  durability,  and  more  convenient  in  relation 
to  deposit  or  storage,  is  a  receptacle,  the  form 


38  Modern  Cremation 


made 
o/seva'al 
materials 
and  in 
different 
forms. 

Sarcophagi. 


of  which  is  contained  within  the  lines  of  a 
parallelogram  ;  while  such  a  vessel  offers  ample 
opportunity  for  artistic  treatment.  Examples 
of  this  kind  were  employed  by  the  Greeks, 
under  the  name  of  /cto-r?;  (in  Latin,  cista)* 
and  by  the   Etruscans ;   although   the  term 
"  urna  "  originally  denoted  vessels  of  this  form 
as  well  as  those  allied  to  that  of  the  vase.  The 
materials  employed  for  their  construction  were 
various,  such  as  terra-cotta,  often  travertine, 
sometimes  marble,  alabaster,  and  even  glass, 
at  that  time  more  costly  than  any.    The  well- 
known  "  sarcophagus,"  oblong  in  form,  and  large 
enough  to  contain  the  entire  unburned  body, 
often  much  larger,  was  elaborately  ornamented. 
Sculptures  in  high  and  low  relief  adorned  their 
sides,  and  statuesque  recumbent  groups  often 
occupied   the  lid,  the  subjects  having  some 
relation  to  the  deeds,  tastes,  or  occupations  of 
the  departed.    The  smaller  cistce  above  referred 
to  resembled  the  preceding,  but  were  compara- 
tively small,  being  designed  to  hold  the  ashes 
only  after  cremation.    One  of  these  is  repre- 
sented by  Fig.  I.    It  is  interesting  to  remark 
that  the  word  aapKocf)dyos,  derived  from  two 
Greek  words  denoting  the  eating  or  consuming 
of  the  body,  was  originally  employed  to  denote 

*  There  is  a  collection  of  these  small  vessels  on  the  first 
floor,  beyond  the  Greek  vases,  in  the  British  Museum. 


Antiqtte  Forms  of  the  "  Cista  "39 

vessels  made  of  a  limestone  found  in  Assos,  in 
Troas,  which  possessed  some  of  the  chemical 
power  of  quicklime.     After   being  deposited 
therein,  it  rapidly  decomposed  the  dead  body,  churary 
destroying  the  tissues  (Pliny  said,  "  in  forty  TarlopL^ 


Fig.  I.— An  Etruscan  "Cista  "  in  the  British 
Museum. 


days  "  !),  leaving  only  the  skeleton  ;  and  this 
process  formed  an  excellent,  because  sanitary, 
mode  of  burial. 

Numerous  examples  of  sarcophagi  and  cine- 
rary urns  are  preserved  in  the  Gregorian 
Museum  at  the  Vatican,  at  the  Kircherian 


40  Modern  Cremation 

Museum,  and  at  that  of  St.  John  Lateran, 
Rome  ;  there  are  many  others   also   at  the 
Campo  Santo,  Pisa,  at  Florence,  Bologna,  and 
forms  pro-    Perugia,    I  have  recently  endeavoured  to  utilize 

posed  for 

modern  use.  some  of  the  best  types  among  these,  and  to 


Figs.  2  and  3. — Simple  Forms  of  Cinerary  Urns, 
designed  by  the  author. 


produce  some  simple  forms  generally  modified 
from  more  ornate  designs,  and  to  present  them 
not  only  on  purely  classical  lines,  but  with  the 
Christian  emblem  of  the  cross.  The  panel  thus 
occupied  may  be  used  for  the  name  of  the 


Modern  Reproductions  41 


deceased,  or  for  any  inscription  desired.  Having 
submitted  two  or  three  to  Messrs.  Doulton  and 
Sons,  these  gentlemen  kindly  entered  at  once 
on  the  work,  and  have  produced  them  on  ^J;^'^^''^ 
reasonable  terms  in  terra  cotta.  Two  are  given 
here  (Figs.  2  and  3).  They  measure  at  most 
sixteen  inches  in  length  by  eight  inches  in 
height  and  eight  inches  in  width,  and  afford 
ample  space  for  the  ashes  of  the  largest  body. 
Such  receptacles  are  well  adapted  to  occupy 
cells  or  niches  of  appropriate  size,  side  by  side, 
in  the  walls  of  a  cloister,  each  cell  closed,  say,  by 
a  small  marble  slab  bearing  the  name  of  the 
deceased. 

Of  course,  where  it  is  desired  to  construct  cinerary 

va?es. 

some  monumental  shrine  by  itself,  the  vase-like 
urn  may  find  an  appropriate  place.  Many 
examples  of  this  kind  are  to  be  found  in  the 
great  cemetery  of  Milan,  associated  with  the 
crematorium  there. 

The  Messrs.  Doulton  have  executed  some  ^^"-ther 

J  1  r     1  •     1  •     1     1  examples 

good  examples  ot  this  kmd  also,  which  may  be  by  Doulton. 
seen  at  their  establishment  at  Lambeth.  They 
have  been  good  enough  to  furnish  us  with 
drawings  which  are  reproduced  here. 

Fig.  4  represents  the  simple  antique  vase  in  cinerary 
pottery,  of  which  so  many  have  been  found  by 
excavation  ;  it  is  one  of  these  which  is  given  in 
each  case  of  cremation  at  Woking,  to  contain 


42  Modern  Cremation 

and  preserve  the  ashes  when  removed  or 
buried. 


Fig.  4. 


Fig.  5  is  a  more  ornate  reproduction  of  a 
Roman  sarcophagus  at  the  Campo  Santo,  Pisa, 


Fig.  5. 


which  suggested  the  modification  forming  the 
cinerary  urn  represented  at  Fig.  2. 


Copies  and  Adaptations  43 


Fig.  6  is  a  handsome  vase,  in  well-chosen 
colours,  made  by  the  Messrs.  Doulton  expressly 


Fig.  6. 


for  cinerary  purposes  ;  and  of  this  they  have 
several  modifications  in  form,  colour,  and  deco- 
rative design. 


44  Modern  Cremation 


Process 

slotv 

1885-92. 


The 

Society's 
policy. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HISTORY  CONCLUDED,  189I-9. 

Gradual  progress  between  1885-92 — Society  recognised  defects 
in  system  of  Death  registration — And  approach  Secretary  of 
State  by  deputation — Serious  allegations  made  respecting 
its  inefficiency — The  Minister  grants  Select  Committee  of 
House  of  Commons  for  inquiry — Report  issued  in  1893, 
confirming  statements  made ;  endorsing  and  commending 
the  labours  of  the  Society — Extracts  from  Report — Second 
deputation  to  the  Minister— Necessary  reform  described — 
Working  of  system  in  1896  and  1897 — Changes  recom- 
mended not  yet  carried  out — Crematoria  established  at 
Manchester,  Glasgow,  Liverpool,  and  elsewhere— Twenty- 
fifth  anniversary  of  the  Society  at  Grosvenor  House,  March, 
1899. 

If  we  revert  to  the  subject  named  at  p.  25,  viz. 
the  annual  number  of  bodies  cremated,  of  which 
a  record  to  the  present  date  is  given,  it  will  be 
seen  that  a  very  gradual  increase  marked  the 
progress  of  cremation  during  the  first  seven  or 
eight  years  following  1885.  For  then  it  became 
a  settled  policy  on  the  part  of  the  Council  not 
to  adopt  active  propagandist  methods,  and  thus 
court  opposition,  but  to  allow  the  subject  to 
become  familiar  by  degrees  to  the  general 
public.    This  was  desirable  for  more  than  one 


Defective  Mode  of  Death  Registration  45 


good  reason,  and  this  an  extremely  important  Registra- 
one,  viz.  the  very  defective  system  existing  in  ^Deathvery 
this  country  for  ascertaining  the  fact  that  death  '^^f"''^''"''- 
has  taken  place,  as  well  as  its  cause,  and  in 
making  the  registration  thereof    It  was  then 
known  to  many,  and  has  now  been  declared  on 
the  highest  authority  that  the  system  adopted 
at   the   present   day  for   the   entire  United 
Kingdom,  offers  large  facilities  for  the  exercise 
of  criminal  poisoning.    It  was  the  existence  of 
this  formidable  defect  which  led  to  a  strong 
conviction  on  the  part  of  the  Council  that  their 
primary  duty  was  to  agitate  for  the  reform  of  Primary 
this  system.    Accordingly  they  agreed  about  t?Jn 
1 89 1-2  to  devote  their  time  and  energy  hence-  '^'■f'"''"- 
forth  to  this  task  ;  and  before  long  a  suitable 
opportunity  offered. 

On  January  6th,  1893,  the  Secretary  of  Deputation 
State  for  the  Home  Department,  Mr.  Asquith,  %"re"ar, 
received  a  deputation,  introduced  by  the  Duke 
of  Westminster,  relative  to  the  appointment  of 
a  "Minister  of  Health,"  and  other  subjects. 
When  the  subject  named  was  disposed  of,  it 
was  arranged  that  another,  viz.  "  Defects  in  the 
present  system  of  death  registration,"  should  be 
introduced  by  myself  I  made  the  following 
statement,  given  here  because  it  contains  all 
the  essential  facts  of  this  important  question, 
one  which  remains  unfortunately  still  unsolved^ 


46 


Modern  C^'-emation 


statement 
to  Minister 
proving 
the  defects 
of present 
system. 


Citing  the 
Registrar- 
GeneraFs 
Report. 


although  no  one,  I  believe,  has  the  slightest 
doubt  that  its  solution  can  be  effected  other- 
wise than  by  the  method  proposed,  and  that  the 
need  is  as  urgent  as  ever. 

It  is  certain  then  no  one  can  deny  that  it  is 
one  of  the  first  duties  of  a  State  to  obtain 
satisfactory  evidence  as  to  the  fact  and  as  to  the 
cause  of  death,  whatever  the  class  of  society 
to  which  the  individual  belonged.  The  means 
employed  in  this  country,  although  evidently 
framed  to  fulfil  that  duty,  are  defective  and  fail 
in  doing  so  to  a  serious  extent.  The  method 
hitherto  and  still  adopted  is  to  obtain  a  written 
certificate  from  the  medical  man  who  personally 
attended  the  deceased.  No  doubt  this  system 
produces  a  satisfactory  result  in  the  majority  of 
cases.  But  in  many  cases  where  no  doctor  has 
been  present  and  evidence  is  most  needed,  no 
provision  for  any  special  medical  examination  is 
made,  and  registration  is  accepted  without  it, 
unless  some  obviously  suspicious  circumstances 
become  known  to  some  one  who  may  demand  a 

coroner's  inquiry. 

The  report  of  the  Registrar- General  of  births, 
deaths,  and  marriages  in  England  and  Wales, 
for  1890,  shows  that  during  the  last  few  years 
there  had  been  a  very  gradual  improvement  in 
the  care  with  which  the  mode  of  certifying  is 
performed,  although  very  far  short  of  what  is 


Evidence  proving  these  Defects  47 


necessary.    The  measure  of  defect  most  ap- 
parent at  first  sight  may  be  thus  set  forth  : — 
In  1890  there  were  registered  .    562,248  deaths 

And  of  these  were  buried 

without  any  certificate      .      15,947,  or  2-8  per  cent. 

But  besides  these  a  much 
larger  number  is  reported 
by  the  Registrar- General 
as  so  "inadequately  certi- 
fied "  as  not  to  be  classifi- 
able  25,683,  or  4-6  per  cent. 

Making  a  total  of .       .       .      41,630,  or  7-4  per  cent. 

of  which  the  cause  cannot 

be  stated. 
Besides  these  it  should  be 

added   that    the  Coroner 

certified  after  inquiry  in  no 

less  than.       .       .       ,      31,581,  or  5-6  percent. 

The  remainder,  about  87  per  cent,  were  med- 
ical certificates  of  the  average  kind.* 

It  is  thus  clear  that  about  one  death  in  every  statement 
36  was  registered  without  any  certificate  ;  and  that  Vf,  ''f'^' 

J  0/ the  Ke^s- 

one  m  every  24  certificates  was  without  value. 

T,  ,  ■  system 

It  must  be  added  that  uncertified  deaths  were  ^^^^sed. 
far  more  numerous  in  Scotland.    In  Glasgow  nefects  stm 
they  formed  4  per  cent,  of  the  entire  number  in  """"" 

T->  ]  •    r         ,  ,  '  marked  in 

l^.clm burgh  no  less  than  8  per  cent,  and  in  the  ^'"f^^'^'f- 
remoter  parts  of  Scotland  from  25  to  45  per  cent 
These  results  were  not  surprising.    It  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  medical  profession  was 

*  An  illustration  of  the  -  slight  improvement  »  referred  to  at 
the  outset  ,s  that  m  1885  the  uncertified  cases  were  3-5  per 
cent    whde  xn  1890,  for  the  first  time,  they  are  as  low  as  U 


48  Modern  Cremation 


called  on  to  accept  the  duty  and  responsibility 
of  certifying  without  any  sort  of  recognition  or 
acknowledgment  of  services  rendered.  Although 
this  fact  did  in  no  way  make  that  duty  felt  to 
be  less  obligatory  on  the  part  of  the  great  body 
of  the  profession,  it  is  impossible  to  deny  that 
an  observance  so  lightly  regarded  by  the  State 
is  apt  to  become  lightly  regarded  by  the  execu- 
tive, and  that  in  course  of  time  the  certificate 
is  treated  as  a  matter  of  form,  or  at  most  one 
of  small  importance.    In  order  to  remedy  these 
defects  it  is  necessary,  first,  to  insure  a  more 
detailed  inquiry  for  the  certificate  in  all  cases  ; 
secondly,  a  searching  medical  examination  should 
be  made  compulsory  in  every  case  which  had 
not  been  attended  by  a  qualified  medical  man 
in  connexion  with  the  illness  or  injury  which 
had  caused  death  ;  and  this  should  be  as  com- 
plete as  the  circumstances  demand,  or,  if  neces- 
,     sarv,  be  conducted  by  the  coroner.  Moreover 

Personal        ^"-^/J  "-"^  .  ,  ,  4-  f 

idcntifica.  ^j^g  |3ody  itsclf  should  be  identified  as  that  ot 
'i^Zld.  the  individual  named,  a  duty  not  recognised  by 
the  present  certificate,  and  it  was  rarely  done, 
although  very  seldom,  of  course,  did  it  prove  to 
be  necessary.  Nevertheless,  for  obvious  reasons 
(in  connexion  with  known  assurance  frauds,  for 
example),  it  ought  to  be  the  first  act  in  the 
examination  made.  Then  the  certifier  should 
be  desired  to  state  in  every  case  as  accurately 


Cause  of  Death  to  be  Known  49 


and  distinctly  as  possible  the  nature,  duration,  a  linost  no 
and  complications  of  the  disease  which  had  been  uie/ItZ 
fatal,  for  the  purpose  of  those  statistical  records  'reguh-cd. 
which  were  so  valuable  an  index  to  the  condition 
of  the  public  health  and  to  the  dangers  which 
threatened  it.    Lastly,  in  every  instance  the 
examination  should  be  made  as  soon  as  possible 
after  death.    And  especially  when  the  case  was 
an  exceptional  one,  the  history  of  which  was 
unknown,  it  should  be  made  by  an  expert,  pro- 
bably a  resident  in  the  district  designated  for 
the  purpose.    For  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  in  sxamina. 
.  relation,  to  the  use  of  poisons,  that,  with  the  t'uwm 
spread  of  intelligence,  a  poisoner  will  be  able  '^'''''"^^"^ 

y^^~l^^    be  made 

to  avoid  those  which  were  easily  identified  by 
tests,  and  will  seek  agents  of  more  subtle  quality 
which  decompose  quickly  in  the  body  after- 
wards, leaving  little  or  no  trace  of  their  pre- 
sence there.    And  whatever  be  the  destination 
of  the  body,  whether  it  be  burial  or  crema- 
tion, it  is  necessary  to  obtain  the  evidence  re- 
specting poison  in  all  doubtful  cases  while  the 
body  is  above  ground.    We  are  told  that  certain 
modes  of  burial  accomplish  disintegration  and 
dissemination  of  its  natural  elements  much  more 
rapidly  than  other  and  older  modes.    Equally   .  „ 

fV.  U    i.1  -^v-j^uaiiy ,  Equally 

then,  would  the  traces  of  such  poisons  likewise  '"=■^0-' ^-^lai 
disappear  from  the  remains  so  buried.  Thus 
also  marks  of  violence  manifest  on  a  dead  body 

E 


A  dequate 
reform 
might  be 
obtained  by 
vwdijication 
of present 
system. 


The 

Minister  s 
reply. 


50  Modern  Cremation 

are  rapidly  lost   as   decomposition  advances. 
Everything  points  to  the  importance  of  the 
principle— in  all  cases  to  ascertain  the  cause  of 
death,  if  possible,  while  the  body  is  within  reach 
and  before  marked  putrefactive  changes  occur. 
It  is  no  part  of  my  plan  to  suggest  any  new 
system,  or  to  copy  any  foreign  one  in  order  to 
remedy  the  defects  complained  of,  for  nothing 
more  is  required  to  accomplish  the  object  de- 
scribed than  a  certain  effective  extension  of  the 
arrangements  for  ascertaining  and  registering 
the  cause  of  death  which  are  at  present  adopted 

in  this  country. 

Mr.  Asquith's  reply  was  in  the  following 

terms  : — 

«  I  feel  much  indebted  to  Sir  Henry  Thomp- 
son for  the  very  lucid  memorandum  which  he 
has  read.    I  fully  recognize  the  importance  of 
the  matter,  and  if,  after  consultation  with  my 
colleague,  the  President  of  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board,  I  find  that  it  is  practicable  to 
amend— for  all  Sir  Henry  Thompson  asks  is  an 
amendment  and  an  extension  of  the  existing 
system— the  law  as  to  certification,  so  as  to  bring 
it  into  more  complete  harmony  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  public  safety  and  the  public  in- 
terest I  shall  be  very  glad  to  concert  with  him 
such  measures  as  are  necessary  for  that  purpose."* 

*  From  the  report  in  the  Times  of  January  7,  1S93. 


Select  Committee  Appointed  51 


Hence  it  followed  that  the  Home  Secretary  Hence  Mr. 
decided  during  the  next  session  of  Parliament  tpp^lnted 
to  appoint  a  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  ^cammittee 
Commons  "  to  inquire  into  the  sufficiency  of  "-^^''^ 

House  0/ 

the  existing  law  as  to  the  disposal  of  the  dead  "  Commons. 
..."  and  especially  for  detecting  the  causes 
of  death  due  to  poison,  violence,  and  criminal 
neglect."     Sir  Walter  Foster,  of  the  Local 
Government  Board,  was  the  President.    Nume-  a  long  and 
rous  witnesses  of  varied  opinions  and  experience  ''Zqfdry 
were  examined,  and  after  a  prolonged  inquiry 
and  careful  consideration  of  the  evidence,  a  full 
report  and  conclusions  drawn  therefrom  were 
unanimously  agreed  to,  and  published  as  a  blue- 
book  in  the  autumn  of  1893.     It  is  entitled  Results. 
"  Reports  of  the  Select  Committee  on  Death 
Certification."  *    The  following  are  a  few  of  the 
conclusions  which  are  quoted  verbatim  from  this 
volume. 

Page  3.  "So  far  as  affording  a  record  of  the 
true  cause  of  death  and  the  detection  of  it  in 
cases  where  death  may  have  been  due  to  vio- 
lence, poison,  or  where  criminal  neglect  is  con- 
cerned, the  class  of  certified  deaths  leaves  much 
to  be  desired  "  (numerous  illustrations  of  which 
are  given  on  page  4). 

Page  4.    Certification  is  extremely  impor- 

*  A'eJ>orls  on  Death  Certification-,  189  J.    Eyre  and  Spottis- 
woodc,  London  (373,  472). 


52 


Modern  Cremation 


tant  as  a  deterrent  of  crime,  and  numerous 
proofs  are  given  at  length  in  support  of  the 
statement.  ..."  Contrast  this  class  with  that  of 
uncertified  deaths,  when  the  result  is  such  as  to 
force  upon  your  Committee  the  conviction  that 
vastly  more  deaths  occur  annually  from  foul 
play  and  criminal  neglect  than  the  law  recog- 
nises." 

Page  8.  Great  uncertainty  in  resorting  to 
the  coroner's  court  and  want  of  system  in  -con- 
nection with  the  practice  of  it  are  affirmed  to 
exist.  (Of  this  numerous  remarkable  examples 
are  quoted.) 

Results  of  Page  lO.  It  is  stated  that  the  opportunity 
'frotr  perpetrating  crime  is  great  in  the  consider- 

puhiished     able  class  of  uncertified  cases  .  .  .  "in  short, 
report.  existing  procedure  plays  into  the  hands  of 

the  criminal  classes." 

"  The  Committee  are  much  impressed  with 
the  serious  possibilities  implied  in  a  system 
which  permits  death  and  burial  to  take  place 
without  the  production  of  satisfactory  medical 
evidence  of  the  cause  of  death." 

Page  12.  The  Committee  have  arrived  at 
the  conclusion  that  the  appointment  of  medical 
officers  who  should  investigate  all  cases  of  death 
which  are  not  certified  by  a  medical  practitioner 
in  attendance  is  a  proposal  which  deserves  their 
support. 


Its  Report  on  the  Whole  Subject  53 


In  considering  Cremation,  the  Committee 
has  reported  as  follows  : 

Page  22.  "  Your  Committee  are  of  opinion 
that  there  is  only  one  question  in  connection 
with  this  method  of  disposing  of  a  dead  body 
to  which  it  is  necessary  for  them  to  refer.  That 
question  is  the  supposed  danger  to  the  com- 
munity arising  from  the  fact  that  with  the 
destruction  of  the  body  the  possibility  of 
obtaining  evidence  of  the  cause  of  death  by 
post-mortem  examination  also  disappears." 

The  mode  of  proceeding  adopted  by  the 
Cremation  Society  of  England  having  been 
described,  "  your  Committee  are  of  opinion  that 
with  the  precautions  adopted  in  connection 
with  cremation,  as  carried  out  by  the  Cremation 
Society,  there  is  little  probability  that  cases  of 
crime  would  escape  detection,  but  inasmuch  as 
these  precautions  are  purely  voluntary,  your 
Committee  consider  that  in  the  interests  of 
public  safety  such  regulations  should  be  enforced 
by  law."  * 

Such  is  the  very  remarkable  and  most  completely 
complete  endorsement  which  the  labours  of  the  ZZZL 
Cremation  Society  have  received  as  the  outcome 

advising  the 

of  this  judicial  inquiry  by  the  Government,  "'et'^o'^^ 
Henceforth  it  can  only  be  a  question  of  time  'to^te'^"^ 

adopted 

*  Reports  ojt  Death  Certification,  1893.    Eyre  and  Spottis-  ■f'"' 
woode,  London  (373,  472).  safety  of  the 

public^ 


54 


Modern  Cremation 


Brought 
srcbject 
before 
Brit.  Med. 
Assoc.  hi 
1894. 


A  second- 
deputation 
to  Mr. 
Asguith  in 
1894. 


Learned 
that  a  bill 
zvould  be 
prepared. 


C flange  of 
Ministry, 


for  the  realization  of  our  hopes  and  justified 
demands  for  an  official  inquiry  enforced  by- 
law in  every  case  of  death.  And  then  the 
general  employment  of  cremation  may  safely 
follow. 

In  August,  1894,  I  brought  the  subject  of 
"  Death "  registration,  together  with  that  of 
cremation,  before  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
British  Medical  Association  held  at  Bristol  ; 
offering  an  epitome  of  the  results  obtained  by 
the  above-named  inquiry.  After  full  discussion 
of  the  subject,  a  unanimous  vote  was  given  in 
favour  of  the  suggestions  made  by  the  House  of 
Commons  Committee,  and  of  the  employment 
of  cremation  in  connection  therewith. 

On  the  14th  November  following,  it  fell  to 
my  lot  to  take  part  in  a  second  deputation  to 
Mr.  Asquith,  and  to  ask  that  the  recommenda- 
tions of  the  Committee  should  be  carried  out. 
He  stated  that  the  business  really  belonged  to 
the  Department  of  the  Local  Government 
Board  ;  and  we  learned  that  it  was  already 
dealing  with  the  question  in  the  hope  of  a 
satisfactory  solution.  There  is  little  doubt, 
had  the  Government  of  that  day  continued  in 
office,  a  Bill  would  soon  have  been  introduced 
to  organise  the  new  procedure  so  much  required. 
But  political  changes  then  impending  soon 
after  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  new  govern- 


vaits 
on. 


Second  Deputation  to  the  Minister  55 

ment,  and  other  questions  came  to  the  front ; 
while  the  disturbed  conditions  of  foreign  relations 
have  since  prevented  consideration  of  the  present 
among  other  needful  social  improvements.  It 
may  be  hoped  that  with  a  clearing  horizon  in  sohM 
regard  of  external  politics,  a  time  may  speedily 
come  in  which  the  subject  can  be  once  more, 
and  once  for  all,  submitted  to  the  Government 
of  the  day,  with  an  earnest  demand  that  the 
recommendations  of  the  House  of  Commons 
Committee  should  be  embodied  and  enforced 
by  an  Act  of  Parliament 

There  still  remains  what  always  constitutes  Probable 

small  cost  of 

a  certain  amount  of  difficulty  with  all  reforms,  the  proposed 
an  item,  not  large,  happily  in  this  instance,  of 
increased  expenditure.  Hitherto  a  considerable 
amount  of  work  in  the  aggregate  has  been 
performed  by  the  profession  in  connection  with 
death  certification,  upon  which,  besides  the 
question  of  personal  safety  to  each  individual, 
our  entire  scheme  of  national  statistics  in  regard 
to  mortality  arising  from  the  chief  diseases 
identifiable  by  name  depends.  For  this,  as 
already  remarked,  no  payment  has  been  made, 
or,  I  imagine,  thought  of,  least  of  all,  probably, 
by  medical  men  themselves,  accustomed  as  they 
are,  and  in  the  nature  of  things  must  be,  to  much 
unremunerative  labour.  But  in  this  matter  of 
determining  the  cause  of  death,  new  conditions. 


56 


Modern  Cremation 


the  result  of  advancing  civilisation,  more  compli- 
cated, more  difficult  to  unravel  than  half-a-cen- 
tury  ago,  have  gradually  arisen,  laying  greater 
responsibility  on  the  medical  man  who  certifies. 
A  serious  mistake  or  two  in  recording  the  cause 
of  death  may  be  as  prejudicial  to  his  reputation 
as  a  serious  mistake  in  the  practice  of  his  art 
during  life.  Hence  a  moderate  fee  should  be 
paid  by  the  State  for  this  service  to  every  man, 
always  to  be  qualified,  whose  duty  it  is  to  certify 
the  cause  of  death  ;  the  inquiry  to  be  adequate, 
and  to  be  applied  in  every  case  of  death  without 
exception.  The  fact  of  payment  made  will 
mark  the  duty  of  certifying  as  an  important  one, 
and  not  a  mere  matter  of  form,  which  latter 
view  has  been  tacitly  suggested  by  the  State 
itself  in  hitherto  declining  to  regard  it  as  work 
worth  paying  for  !  However,  it  must  henceforth 
rank  in  that  great  and  increasing  category  of 
duties  which  relate  to  the  prevention  of  disease 
now  engaging  so  large  a  share  of  medical  life 
Suggestions  and  activity.  The  fresh  cost  thus  expended, 
^difficulty-  while  it  lends  powerful  aid  also  in  the  work  of 
preventing  crime,  can  only  prove  a  desirable 
investment,  even  if  regarded  merely  in  view  of 
the  material  interests  of  the  large  and  increasing 
population  of  this  country.  The  difficulty  could 
not  be  great,  for  fully  qualified  men,"*an  officer  of 
health,  for  example,  exists  in  every  locality,  with 


An  Official  Certifier  necessary  57 

a  district  under  his  supervision,  who  might  be 
appointed  so  as  to  embrace  an  entire  urban  or 
country  population.  His  duty  might  be  to 
examine  and  certify  in  every  case  of  death, 
making  autopsy  where  desirable,  determining 
whether  a  coroner's  inquest  is  necessary,  and 
certifying,  when  he  is  completely  satisfied,  that 
death  has  occurred  from  natural  causes.  When 
this  officer  has  thus  certified.  Cremation  is  to 
be  permissible.  Lastly,  he  should  advise — and 
in  time  may  probably  be  empowered  to  enforce 
— after  death  by  infectious  disease  the  free  em- 
ployment of  quick-lime  in  burial  in  districts 
without  a  Crematory,  or  the  process  by  heat 
where  one  exists. 

That  the  same  or  almost  the  same  imper-  Theou 
fection  in  our  present  system  still  exists,  may  be  method stm 
seen  by  referring  to  the  latest  report  of  the 
Registrar-General  on  this  subject,  viz.  that  for 
the  year  1896.*  And  this  too,  notwithstanding 
the  wide  publication  of  the  suggestive  and  dis- 
quieting facts  made  known  to  the  public  by  the 
House  of  Commons  inquiry  ;  stimulating  as  it 
very  properly  has  done,  the  exertions  of  depart- 
ments officially  concerned. 

The  following  figures  are  reported  and  can  Re^htrar. 
be   compared   with   those   which   were   pre-  ^rlZrtl' 

quoted. 

*  Fifty -ninth  Anmcal  Report  of  the  Registrar-General  of 
Births,  Deaths  atid  Marriages  for  1896.    London,  1897. 


58 


Modem  Cremation 


Proportion 
of  deaths 
caused  by 
contag-ious 
disease. 


sented  to  Mr.  Asquith,  and  led  to  the  inquiry 
described.  (Vide  pp.  46-48.) 


Latest 
report  just 
issued  \\%<jii\ 
for  year 
1887. 


In  1896,  were  registered  for  England  and 
Wales  ...... 

Among  these,  the  zymotic  or  specific 
febrile  diseases  caused 

Of  the  total  above  named  were  buried 
without  any  certificate  about 


526,727  deaths. 

78,553  deaths,  or 
14-9  per  cent. 


1 2,000  deaths,  or 
2-21  per  cent. 

and  respecting  which  nothing  whatever  was  known  as  to 
the  cause  of  death. 

Besides  these,  in  nearly  double  that  number, 
the  certification  was  so  imperfect  as  to  furnish 
no  accurate  information,  and  render  them  un- 
classifiable  for  statistical  purposes,  amounting 
to  a  further  4-3  per  cent,  in  all ;  or  6^  from 
practically  unknown  causes. 

Nevertheless,  there  was  increased  activity  in 
the  Coroners'  Courts,  since  causes  of  death  were 
certified  by  inquest  in  no  less  than  32,990  or  6-26 
per  cent,  in  place  of  the  high  record  of  5  '6  in  1 889. 

Since  the  foregoing  was  written,  the 
Registrar-General's  report  has  just  been  issued 
for  1897  (May  1899) 


In  1897  were  registered  for  England  and 

W^ales  

a  lower  rate  than  usual. 

Among  these  the  zymotic  or  specific 
febrile  caused  


541,487  deaths, 

80,469 deaths,  or 
1 4 '9  per  cent. 


*  Sixtieth  Annual  Report  of  the  Registrar-General  of 
Births,  Deaths  and  Marriages  for  1897.    London,  1899. 


More  Inquests  are  held  59 

Increased  attention  to  the  defects  which 
have  been  pointed  out,  has  led  to  much  more 
rigid  inquiry  respecting  doubtful  cases  than  in 
any  previous  year,  and  the  Coroner's  Court  has  Coroner-s 

,  .       Court  has 

been  still  more  largely  resorted  to  than  m  been  more 
1896.  In  no  less  than  43,728  cases,  or  8'o8  per 
cent,  of  the  total  deaths;  (one  in  every  12-^) 
were  referred  to  the  consideration  of  Coroners, 
who  held  inquests  on  33,869,  or,  in  6-25  per 
cent,  of  the  total.  Notwithstanding  which,  2"o6 
per  cent,  of  the  total  deaths  during  the  year 
were  uncertified.  While  the  causes  in  23,057 
cases,  or  4'3,  were  so  unsatisfactorily  stated  as 
to  be  useless  for  purposes  of  classification, 
making  together  6*36  per  cent,  due  to  practically 
unknown  causes. 

The  important  part  taken  by  our  Society  House  o/ 

1    .      .  ,  IT-IT  .         .  Cojnmons 

m  brmgmg  about  the  Parliamentary  mquiry  inquiry  has 
described,  has  rendered  a  rather  long  considera-  ^S^Lw 
tion  of  the  subject  necessary  here.    That  in- 

cremation 

quiry  has  doubtless  influenced  the  public  mind  favourably. 
to  regard  cremation  with  more  favour  than 
before. 

In  continuing  the  history  of  the  Society's 
progress  this  feeling  has  been  gradually  mani- 
fested throughout  the  country.     At  an  early  Progress 
period,  about   eight   or   nine   years   ago,   an  tel!u2y: 
admirably  designed  and  completely  equipped 
crematorium  was  built  in  Manchester— an  event  Manchester, 


6o  Modern  Cremation 

greatly  due  to  the  influence,  enterprise,  and 
foresight  of  Mr.  Henry  Simon,  the  well-known 
and  skilful  mill  engineer  of  that  city.  It  was 
opened  by  the  Duke  of  Westminster  on  Octo- 
ber 2nd,  1892,  before  a  large  public  meeting 
assembled  on  the  occasion,  at  which  our  Society 
was  represented  by  three  members  of  the 
Council.  Since  that  time  up  to  the  end  of 
1898,  303  bodies  have  been  cremated  there,  62 
cremations  taking  place  during  the  pa&t  year. 
Our  system  of  conducting  an  inquiry  into  the 
causes  of  death,  so  favourably  referred  to  in  the 
House  of  Commons'  official  report,  has  been 
adopted  there,  as  I  believe  it  is  also  at  other 
places. 

Glasgow,  At  Glasgow  a  handsome  and  well-arranged 

building  comprising  a  crematorium,  chapel 
and  waiting  rooms,  situated  in  the  Maryhill 
Cemetery  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  was  opened 
by  Sir  Charles  Cameron,  Bart.,  M.P.,  in  the 
presence  of  a  large  and  influential  assembly,  in 
November,  1894,  since  which  date  39  cremations 
have  taken  place. 

Liverpool  I"    Livcrpool  an  excellent  and  complete 

example  of  a  modern  crematorium  erected  at 
the  Anfield  Cemetery,  was  opened  by  the 
Right  Hon.  Lord  Derby,  as  Lord  Mayor  of 
Liverpool,  in  September,  1 896.  And  the  number 
of  cremations  up  to  the  end  of  1898  was  also 


Cremation  increasing  in  Favour  6i 

39,  of  which  number  27  occurred  during  the  past 
year. 

At  Hull  a  handsome  building  is  now  in  HuU, 
progress  for  the  purpose  of  cremation  under  the 
supervision  of  Mr.  Henry  Simon.    I  may  add 
that  it  is  the  first  in  this  country  originated  and 
completed  by  a  municipal  corporation. 

At  Birmins^ham  an  influential  meeting  took  r^cccu 

meeting  at 

place  in  the  City  Council  Chamber  on  June  14,  Birmin, 
1899.  Among  several  others  who  addressed 
the  meeting  was  the  Bishop  of  Coventry,  who 
moved  the  first  resolution ;  also  Sir  Charles 
Cameron,  Bart.,  M.P.,  and  Mr,  J.  C.  Swinburne- 
Hanham,  representing,  as  members  of  the 
Council,  our  Society,  The  Bishop  expressed 
at  length  his  opinion  without  hesitation,  that 
cremation  was  preferable  on  several  grounds  to 
burial  in  populous  districts,  and  that  the  dis- 
posal of  the  dead  by  burning  was  not  contrary 
to  any  Christian  precept.  For  these  and  other 
reasons  given,  "  he  did  not  hesitate  to  move," 
'  That  it  is  desirable  to  make  provision  for  a 
crematorium  in  Birmingham  and  its  neighbour- 
hood.' 

Numerous  applications  and  proposals  for  the  and  many 
erection  of  crematoria  are  now  being  made  by 
municipal  corporations  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  mostly  in  connection  with  local  ceme- 
teries.    It  should  be  added  that  the  ordinary 


other  places 
comvicMc- 


62  Modern  Cremation 


Neighbour- 


burial  authorities  of  the  country — i.e.  the  burial 
boards — have  no  legal  power  to  expend  the 
rates  to  provide  for  cremation.  The  municipal 
corporations  which  are  moving  in  the  matter 
have  to  acquire  parliamentary  powers  for  the 
purpose. 

I  may  briefly  state  that  during  the  year 
hood  of       1894  the  Council  of  our  Society  received  a 

London. 

proposal  from  the  Burial  Board  of  the  parish  of 
Paddirigton,  that  the  Society  should  erect  a 
crematorium  in  their  cemetery  at  Willesden. 
Having  obtained  the  sanction  of  the  Home 
Secretary,  the  Board  offered  to  grant  a  lease  of 
twenty-one  years  if  we  could  defray  the  cost  of 
building  a  complete  crematorium.  After  careful 
examination  of  the  site  with  our  architect,  we 
were  reluctantly  compelled  to  relinquish  the 
attempt  to  do  so  on  the  limited  space  available, 
and  in  view  of  the  heavy  expenditure  necessary 
with  so  short  a  term  of  occupation.  We  never- 
theless hope  to  be  able  at  no  distant  period  to 
erect  a  thoroughly  efficient  building  for  the  pur- 
pose within  easy  reach  of  the  north  and  west  of 
London,  worthy  of  the  position  it  would  occupy 
in  relation  to  the  metropolis,  and  the  future 
demand  which  is  certain  to  arise  in  the  coming 
century. 

Tiventy-  The  twcnty-fifth  anniversary  of  our  Society 

^^^'^         took  place  in  March,  1 899,  and  through  the  kind- 

anntvcrsary    '■^^'^  r 


Society  s  Twenty-fifth  Anniversary  63 


ness  of  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Westminster,  its  atcrosvenor 
Council,  members  and  friends  were  permitted  to 
assemble  at  Grosvenor  House  for  a  meeting  to 
celebrate  the  occasion. 

An  address  was  given  by  the  President  who  Historical 
occupied  the  chair,  briefly  reciting  the  history  l,J^£port. 
of  the  Society's  labours  from  1874  to  the  present 
date  ;  and  an  annual  report  as  to  the  general  pro- 
gress and  financial  position  of  the  Society  *  was 
read  by  the  Hon.  Secretary,  J.  C.  Swinburne- 
Hanham,  Esq.,  Barrister-at-law,  and  resolutions 
were  proposed  and  seconded  by  the  Duke  of  Proceedings. 
Westminster   and   various    members   of  the 
Council. 

His  Grace,  moreover,  was  good  enough  at 
the  same  time  to  accept  the  position  of  Vice- 
President  of  the  Society.  A  report  will  be  found 
in  the  Society's  Transactions  No.  XH.  of  the 
current  year. 

*  During  the  last  four  or  five  years  it  is  satisfactory  to  learn 
that  the  revenue  from  the  increasing  number  of  cremations  has 
yielded  a  moderate  surplus,  which  has  been  annually  invested 
in  the  names  of  the  trustees,  forming  a  fund  for  expenditure  on 
a  new  furnace  or  crematorium,  or  otherwise  as  may  seem  most 
desirable.  The  annual  balance-sheet  has  been  always  examined 
by  a  well-known  accountant,  and  is  open  for  inspection  to  all 
members. 


64 


Modern  Cremation 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  VALUE  OF  CREMATION,  IN  CASES  OF 
DEATH  BY  INFECTIOUS  DISEASE. 

The  large  class  of  diseases  which  produce  infection  during  life 
and  after  death  in  various  ways—  History  records  their  fatal 
influence — especially  after  burial  in  populous  districts — 
Safety  to  living,  only  insured  by  the  cremation  of  all  such 
cases. 

I  HAVE  referred  in  the  preceding  chapter  to 
Zymotic      the  large  group  of  zymotic*  or  contagious  febrile 

discctscs 

diseases  which  form  so  important  a  proportion 
of  the  annual  total  of  deaths  in  this  country 
amounting  as  they  do  to  80,000  yearly. 

The  group  thus  named  is  generally  held  to 
consisting     be  formed  chiefly  by  the  following  :— Small-pox, 
fJl"!""'  Measles,  Scarlet  Fever,  Diphtheria,  Whooping- 
cough,  Typhus,  Enteric  and  Continued  Fevers, 
with  some  forms  of  Diarrhoea  and  Cholera. 
During  the  last  few  years  they  have  thus  con- 
stituted rather  more  than  one-eighth  of  the  total 
mortality.    Let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  each 
case  is  not  merely  a  focus  of  infection  while 
living,  but  is  capable  of  actively  propagating 
*  Zymotic  diseases  {iw<e<Ti^)  a  ferment. 


Dangers  of  Bztrial  in  Infectiotis  Disease  65 

disease  after  death.  At  that  period  this  activity 
is  at  its  maximum,  becoming  slowly  less  so 
from  various  chemical  changes  which  follow  a 
natural  course  afterwards — largely,  no  doubt,  by 
means  of  oxidation  from  exposure  ;  the  nature 
of  some  of  these  changes  not  having  been  com- 
pletely studied  and  ascertained. 

For  the  sake  of  the  living  and  healthy  popu- 
lation, the  question  of  rendering  the  dead  by 
zymotic  diseases  innocuous  is  one  of  supreme 
importance.  These  80,000  foci  of  communi- 
cable disease  scattered  annually  throughout  our 
country  cannot  fail  to  extend  injurious  influences 
to  others.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  this 
large  number  of  deaths  from  maladies  which  are 
mostly  preventible  is  itself  partly  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  dead  body  is  permitted  to  propagate 
disease  to  the  living.  Could  we  arrest  at  once 
and  completely  the  injuriously  active  forces 
which  pervade  it,  a  marked  diminution  would  be 
apparent  in  the  progress  of  many  a  local  pesti- 
lence. 

Questions  touching  the  isolation  of  cases  Disin/ec- 
during  illness,  their  sanitary  condition,  and  the  ^ZringUfi 
employment  of  disinfectants  during  life  and  for  "'"^ 

wards 

the  rooms  and  clothing  of  the  deceased  after-  essential. 
wards,  have  hitherto  largely  occupied  the  public 
as  well  as  the  medical  profession,  and  their  study 
has  been  followed  by  remarkable  successful 

F 


66  Modern  Cremation 

results.  Illustrations  of  these  it  will  be  wholly 
superfluous  for  me  to  adduce.  The  manage- 
ment of  infectious  disease  during  life  is  not 
within  our  scope  here.  The  question  is  :  What 
is  the  best  mode  of  arresting  the  progress  of 
infection  when  death  occurs,  so  that  diseased 
remains  shall  not  injure  the  living,  whose  right  to 
protection  is  now  the  all-important  considera- 
tion ? 

A  long  experience  has  demonstrated  that  all 
methods  of  dealing  with  the  dead  body,  which 
have  for  their  object  its  conservation  entire,  when 
charged  with  infectious  elements,  permit  these  to 
be  disseminated,  and  have  often  occasioned  fresh 
outbreaks,  especially   in  periods  of  epidemic 
Danger       visitatiott.      The    intricate,    continuous,  and 
'^ZZeta       universally  pervading  natural  network  of  water- 
reachtngthe  ^^Q^j-gg  bcncath  the  surface  of  the  soil,  associated 

sources  oj 

drinkmg  jg  ^^[\^  innumerable  artificial  wells,  reser- 

rvater 

voirs,  and  channels  of  every  description  for  dis- 
tributing water  and  collecting  sewage,  form  a 
system  unseen  yet  scarcely  imaginable  in  regard 
of  its  extent,  by  those  who  have  not  practically 
studied  it  and  realised  the  complexity  of  its 
ramifications.  In  a  densely  populated  country 
this  system  presents  perhaps  the  most  formidable 
social  health  problem  which  the  sanitarian  has  to 
encounter. 

The  history  of  the  chief  epidemics  of  the  last 


Proved  by  long  Experience  67 


sixty  years  in  this  country,  and  the  local  out- 
breaks of  Fever,  Diphtheria,  Scarlet  Fever, 
Small-pox,  etc.,  offer  innumerable  examples  of 
propagation  and  extension  of  these  diseases,  due 
mainly,  if  not  entirely,  to  the  failure  to  prevent 
poisoning  of  the  water-courses,  not  only  and  very 
largely  by  excreta  during  life,*  but  also  by  dead 
bodies  committed  to  the  soil — bodies  which  are 
deposited  there  solely  in  obedience  to  a  senti- 
ment that  it  is  necessary  to  preserve  the  integrity 
of  their  form  and  the  unaltered  condition  of  their 
elements  when  buried,  elements  at  that  moment 
so  destructive  and  so  mobile ! 

I  have  no  need  to  dilate  on  these  facts,  and  by 
Their  fatal  influence  is  a  part  of  our  national  f^*'''^^ 

•■■  oocly  exists 

history.    On  the  other  hand,  I  shall  not  ignore  f<"-"-i'»^s 

,  1         r  1  1  •  period,  after 

the  tact  that  diseased  bodies  may,  in  certain  buriai. 
soils  in  exceptionally  favourable  situations,  be 
deposited  with  the  object  just  named,  and  that 
in  the  course  of  three  or  four  years,  perhaps,  the 
chief  danger  may  be  dissipated  without  ascer- 
tainable harm  to  others.  Extreme  precaution 
must  always  be  taken  to  preserve  the  encroach- 
ment of  population  on  these  favoured  spots,  or 
no  hope  of  their  harmlessness  can  be  maintained 
But  these  light  dry  soils  and  elevated  spots  are 
the  most  salubrious  we  possess  for  human  habi- 

*  As  transmitted  by  milk,  and  thus  producing  outbreaks  of 
fever  of  frequent  occurrence. 


68 


Modern  Cremation 


St-ruggle 
between  the 
living  and 
the  dead  for 
the  choicest 
residential 
sites. 


Risk  of 
using  per- 
ishable 
coffins  in 
jiiost  sites 


tation,  for  which^  so,  long  as  they  are  used  as 
burying-grounds,  they  are  totally  disqualified. 
Thus,  in  this  densely  populated  country,  the 
struggle  between  the  claims  of  the  dead  and  the 
living  for  the  best  plots  of  soil  for  their  respective 
wants  is  becoming  serious  ;  and  there  can  be  no 
question  in  the  future  as  to  their  comparative 
importance. 

But  it  ought  never  to  be  forgotten  that  the 
perishable  coffin,  if  safe  in  exceptional  circum- 
stances, becomes  dangerous  in  burying-grounds 
where   any   communication   exists   with  the 
great  network  of  water-courses  described  and 
always  associated  with  populous  districts.    It  is 
during  the  early  weeks  or  months  which  follow 
death  that  the  poison  of  the  diseased  body  is  at 
its  maximum,  both  as  regards  force  and  quan- 
tity.   You  open  wide  the  doors  for  the  exit  of 
such  infection  when  you  bury  that  body  in  a 
basket  or  in  a  perishable  envelope.    Better  even, 
in  the  interest  of  the  living,  that  you  placed  it 
in  the  much-abused  lead  coffin,  offensive  as  the 
results  of  changes  which  take  place  in  these 
sealed  interiors  are  when  opened.    For  we  have 
at  least  the  right  to  doubt  whether  specific 
morbid   germs  survive  for   many   years  the 
remarkable  organic  transformation  which  slowly 
takes  place  within  the  lead  coffin.    All,  then, 
that  I  contend  for  is  this.    That,  whatever  form 


Especially  in  PoptUous  Districts  69 

of  dealing  with  the  dead  is  adopted  demanding 
as  its  primary  condition  the  preservation  of  the 
body  entire,  some  risk  to  the  Hving  is  associated 
therewith.  That  risk  may  be  minimised  by 
certain  precautions,  but  its  amount  is  only  a 
question  of  degree.  It  may  be  formidable  and 
produce  lamentable  results  when  interment  is 
intramural,  as  many  living  witnesses  can  testify, 
since  it  was  a  custom  not  many  years  ago 
universally  followed. 

It  is  less  considerable,  but  is  often  manifest 
in  confined  suburban  districts,  and  particularly 
where  the  central  concourse  of  inhabitants  is  a 
rapidly  increasing  one. 

The  risk  and  its  results  are  obvious  in  many  <*-^<^ 

unstntable 

country  churchyards,  especially  in  low-lying  soUs. 
districts,  on  the  borders  of  rivers  and  water-ways 
naturally,  for  manifold  reasons,  the  favourite 
haunts  of  population.  Such  situations  form  in 
fact  the  sites  occupied  by  the  largest  part  of  our 
rural  inhabitants  and  by  almost  all  our  towns. 

Finally,  the  risk  is  small  when  confined  to 
outlying  uninhabited  districts  with  a  peculiarly 
favourable  soil.  But  who  shall  say  when  the 
minimum  of  risk  at  present  there  existing  shall 
not  in  our  populous  country  become  manifestly 
greater  ? 

Now,  in  regard  to  the  80,000  bodies  dying  of 
zymotic  diseases,  let  it  be  observed  that  few  of 


70 


Modern  Cremation 


A  high 
tempera- 
ture 

absolutely 
removes  all 
possi- 
bility of 
infectioH. 


these  are  within  reach  of  a  choice  and  almost 
safe  locahty  for  interment.  On  the  contrary, 
they  are  scattered  throughout  the  kingdom,  and 
the  majority  are  necessarily  interred  in  places 
where  the  germs  of  disease  can  readily  be 
carried  into  the  currents  of  the  great  water 
systems  referred  to.  With  these  existing  facts 
before  us,  we  have,  moreover,  to  provide  for  an 
increasing  population  and  for  increasing  occupa- 
tion of  the  land  best  adapted  for  the  purposes  of 
habitation. 

I  have  recently  proposed,  therefore,  that 
every  body  dying  of  zymotic  disease  should  be 
at  once  absolutely  disinfected — rendered  inca- 
pable of  extending  it — that  is,  as  soon  as  possible 
after  death,  having  due  regard  to  convenience 
and  decorum.  I  know  only  one  mode  of 
effecting  this  object — namely,  by  submitting  the 
body  to  a  sufficiently  high  temperature. 

Placed  in  a  chamber  heated  to  something 
like  1,500°  Fahr.— about  800°  Cent— all  the 
fluid  and  gaseous  matters  are  volatilized  and 
escape  as  innocuous  gases.  The  residue  is  a 
heap  of  dry  white  ash,  absolutely  harmless.  An 
hour  suffices  to  complete  the  operation,  and  it  is 
in  fact  a  process  of  complete  Desiccation  and 
Disinfection  by  heat.  When  the  process  is 
conducted  in  a  furnace  it  is  popularly  spoken  of 
as  "  Cremation."    The  method  above  described, 


Disinfection  by  Heat 


71 


however,  constitutes  the  best  and  simplest  way 
of  accomplishing  the  end  proposed,  there  being 
no  contact  with  burning  fuel  or  applied  flame. 
It  was  that  which  I  adopted  as  an  experiment 
for  the  first  time  as  long  ago  as  in  1 874,  by 
means  of  a  Siemens'  furnace,*  and  thus  reduced  The 

.  Siemens' 

a  body  containing  a  large  proportion  of  adipose  /umace. 
tissue  and  weighing  about  160  pounds  in  less 
than  an  hour,  the  pure  white  ashes  weighing 
less  than  five  pounds.  The  cost  of  the  proper 
apparatus  and  the  necessity  for  a  full  supply  of 
gas  by  which  the  heat  is  obtained  compelled 
the  Cremation  Society  of  England  at  first  to 
employ  a  reverberating  furnace,  the  most 
approved  form  of  which  is  still  adopted  at 
Woking,  and  with  admirable  results.  But  the 
remarkable  success  which  has  followed  the 
Society's  operations  renders  it  probable  that 
before  long  the  system  now  referred  to  will  also 
be  in  operation  and  conducted  under  their 
auspices. 

It  is  this  process  of  Disinfection  by  high  Disin/ec 
TEMPERATURE  that  I  now  propose  should  be  'sZuidi,c 

adopted  as  a 

*  Within  a  recent  period  a  new  form  of  "Siemens'  "  re-  -ndefor 
generative  gas  furnace  has  been  constructed  at  half  the  former  ^''^^^ 
cost,  with  its  own  gas  producer,  and  working  with  a  much 
smaller  amount  of  fuel  than  formerly.     It  has  already  been 
largely  employed  for  metal-work  in  various  European  countries, 
but  I  have  not  myself  had  any  opportunity  of  employing  it  for 
cremation.    See  Iron  and  Steel  Trades  Tournal  of  April 
1898.  1^     J  . 


72  Modern  Cremation 


applied  to  all  bodies  certified  to  have  died  of  in- 
fectious disease  as  an  act  of  wise  precaution  and 
just  regard  for  the  interests  of  the  living.  It  will 
become  a  question,  of  course,  for  consideration  by 
the  Local  Government  Board — whether  crema- 
tion, while  of  course  remaining  optional  for  all, 
in  every  ordinary  case  of  death,  should  not  sooner 
or  later  become  imperative  in  all  cases  of  death, 
caused  by  contagious  disease  in  its  worst  forms 
such  as  smallpox,  scarlet  fever,  diphtheria,  and 
malignant  cholera,  at  least — at  all  events  in  the 
chief  centres  of  population,  the  cities  and  large 
Question  of  towns  of  the  United  Kingdom.  And  for  these 
'a-emltoria  a  qucstion  might  arise  as  to  the  employment  of 
^cLlsf'  crematoria  set  apart  for  the  purpose,  provided 
with  special  antiseptic  precautions  to  insure 
freedom  from  danger  to  attendants  or  others 
frequenting  them.  This  may  be  secured  simply 
and  easily  by  well-known  practical  arrange- 
ments ;  and  of  course  with  the  same  attention  to 
decorum  and  to  religious  rites  as  at  the  existing 
crematoria.  I  advocated  this  mode  of  dealing 
with  all  zymotic  diseases  in  a  paper  read  at  a 
large  meeting  of  the  International  Congress  of 
Hygiene,  held  in  London  in  1891,  and  a  resolu- 
tion strongly  approving  the  proposal  was  carried 
in  a  large  meeting  of  sanitary  experts  and 
medical  officers  of  health.  Is  it  not  impossible 
to  resist  the  cogency  of  the  argument  which  the 


The  only  Certain  Remedy  73 

above-named  facts  reveal,  that  the  purification 
by  high  temperature  or  Cremation,  is  desirable  in 
all  cases  of  death,  instead  of  interment  in  earth  ? 
The  argument  which  appears  to  me  wholly 
irresistible  in  relation  to  bodies  deceased  from 
infectious  diseases  is  only  by  some  degrees  less 
weighty  in  regard  to  death  by  all  other  causes. 
Putrefying  animal  matter  is  always  noxious,  and 
may  be  dangerous  to  the  living  ;  the  process  of 
desiccation  and  disinfection  in  earth  must  in  any 
case  occupy  years  for  its  accomplishment,  and 
during  the  first  period  of  the  term  much  harm 
may  arise. 

Finally,  by  this  means  two  great  advantages 

1  ,      ,1  ,  ,.  great advan- 

are  secured  to  the  public.  tages  0/ 

First,  a  diseased  dead  body  is  rendered  incap-  Jj/z^lw"^ 
able  of  communicating  any  malady  to  the  living. 

Second,  the  assignment  of  large  and  desirable 
tracts  of  land  throughout  the  country  for  the  im- 
perfect and  sometimes  hazardous  process  of  puri- 
fication by  burial  in  earth  is  rendered  needless. 
Every  acre  hitherto  thus  devoted  may  in  pro- 
cess of  time  be  made  free  for  residential  pur- 
poses, for  the  production  of  food,  or,  in  thickly 
populated  neighbourhoods,  devoted  as  open 
spaces  for  exercise  and  recreation  to  promote 
and  maintain  the  public  health. 


74  Modern  Cremation 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  ARGUMENT  FOR  CREMATION,  AS  FIRST 
PRESENTED  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS  AGO. 

Death  is  not  cessation  of  activity,  but  entails  another  form  of  it 
— To  resolve  the  body  into  its  primary  elements— for  a 
fresh  career  in  the  vegetable  world— Then  to  be  consumed 
by  animals  and  return  again  to  animal  life — Burial  delays 
the  process— Cremation  facilitates  it — The  economic  ques- 
tion— The  question  of  sentiment — Premature  burial — 
Cremation  secures  better  than  burial  a  concrete  memorial  of 
the  deceased. 

Controversy  with  Medical  Inspector  of  Burial  for  England 
and  Wales— the  first  authority  on  that  subject— He  estimates 
too  lightly  the  evils  of  burial — Unanswerable  evidence 
adduced— illustrating  its  manifold  dangers— Hence  in- 
tramural interment  had  been  abolished — Evidence  of  leading 
sanitarians  of  that  day — Comparison  between  Cremation  and 
burial  demonstrates  superiority  of  the  former  in  many  ways. 

I  REALLY  do  not  know  how  to  present  the  original 
or  elementary  argument  in  favour  of  cremation 
in  any  clearer  or  briefer  form  than  that  which 
was  adopted  in  the  first  instance,  now  twenty- 
five  years  ago.*  Hence  it  is  transcribed  here, 
with  a  few  slight  changes  rendered  necessary 
chiefly  by  progress  in  chemical  knowledge,  and 
in  modes  of  expression  arising  thereby. 

*  In  the  Contemporary  Review  ]2Si\!Sixy  1874. 


The  Original  Argument  for  Cremation  75 

After  death  !  The  last  faint  breath  had  been 
noted,  and  another  watched  for  so  long,  but  in 
vain.  The  body  lies  there,  pale  and  motionless 
except  only  that  the  jaw  sinks  slowly  but  per- 
ceptibly. The  pallor  visibly  increases,  becomes 
more  leaden  in  hue,  and  the  profound  tranquil 
sleep  of  Death  reigns  where  just  now  were  life 
and  movement.  Here,  then,  begins  the  eternal 
rest. 

Rest !  no,  not  for  an  instant.    Never  was  Molecular 

changes 

there  greater  activity  than  at  this  moment  exists  after  death. 
in  that  still  corpse.  Activity,  but  of  a  different 
kind  to  that  which  was  before.  Already  a  thou- 
sand changes  have  commenced.  Forces  in- 
numerable have  attacked  the  dead.  The 
rapidity  of  the  vulture,  with  its  keen  scent  for 
animal  decay,  is  nothing  to  that  of  Nature's 
ceaseless  agents  now  at  full  work  before  us. 
That  marvellously  complex  machine,  but  this 
moment  the  theatre  of  phenomena  too  subtle 
and  too  recondite  to  be  comprehended  ;  de- 
notable  only  by  phraseology  which  stands  for 
the  unknown  and  incomputable — "  vital,"  because 
more  than  physical,  more  than  chemical— is 
now  consigned  to  the  action  of  physical  and 
chemical  agencies  alone.  And  these  all  operat- 
ing in  a  direction  the  reverse  of  that  which 
they  held  before  death.  A  synthesis  then, 
developing  the  animal  being.    The  stages  of 


76 


Modern  Cremation 


Decompos- 
ing and 
dispersing. 


Nature's 
object. 


Dead 
animal 
matter 
must  be 
utilised ; 


that  synthesis,  now,  retraced,  yet  with  another 
end,  still  formative  in  view.  Stages  of  decom- 
position, of  decay,  with  its  attendant  putrescence; 
process  abhorrent  to  the  living,  who  therefore 
desire  its  removal.  "  Bury  the  dead  out  of  my 
sight,"  is  the  wholly  natural  sentiment  of  the 
survivor. 

But  Nature  does  nothing  without  ample  mean- 
ing ;  nothing  without  an  object  desirable  in  the 
interest  of  the  body  politic.  It  may,  then,  be 
useful  to  inquire  what  must  of  necessity  happen 
if,  instead  of  burying  or  attempting  to  preserve 
the  dead,  Nature  follows  an  unimpeded  course, 
and  the  lifeless  animal  is  left  to  the  action  of 
laws  in  such  case  provided. 

It  is  necessary  first  to  state  more  exactly  the 
conditions  supposed  to  exist.  Thus,  the  body 
must  be  exposed  to  air,  and  must  not  be  con- 
sumed as  prey  by  some  living  animal.  If  it  is 
closely  covered  with  earth  or  left  in  water,  the 
same  result  is  attained  as  in  the  condition  first 
named,  although  the  steps  of  the  process  may 
be  dissimilar. 

The  problem  which  Nature  sets  herself  to 
work  in  disposing  of  dead  animal  matter  is 
always  one  and  the  same.  The  order  of  the 
universe  requires  its  performance ;  no  other 
end  is  possible.  The  problem  may  be  slowly 
worked,  or  quickly  worked,  whether  by  rapid 


First  Principles  Explained  77 


and  direct  changes,  or  by  slow  and  numerous 
stages  :  the  end  is,  always  the  same. 

It  may  be  thus  defined  :  the  animal  is  to  be 
resolved  into  its  primary  elements. 

a.  Elements  resolved  chiefly  in  a  gaseous  a.  casemis 

elements, 

form  :  Carbon,  Hydrogen,  Oxygen,  Nitrogen  ; 
more  or  less  common  to  all  organic  life.  All 
largely  present  and  active  in  the  gaseous  form 
in  the  air  we  breathe  ;  the  Carbon  in  the  form 
of  oxide  and  dioxide  ;  Nitrogen  much  in  com- 
bination with  Hydrogen  as  ammonia ;  Hydro- 
gen with  Oxygen  as  water,  in  the  form  of  liquid 
or  of  vapour. 

b.  Mineral  elements  derived  from  the  earth's  ^-  Mineral 

elements, 

crust ;  more  or  less  combined  with  oxygen  ;  a 
much  smaller  product  than  the  former  group  ; 
consisting  of  Phosphorus,  Sulphur,  Oxygen, 
Chlorine,  forming  compounds  with  Calcium, 
M  agnesia.  Iron,  Silicon  and  other  elements  in 
minor  quantities. 

The   first  group,  gaseous  in   form,  when 
liberated  go  into  the  atmosphere. 

The  second  group,  ponderous  and  solid, 
remain  where  the  body  lies,  until  dissolved  and 
washed  into  the  earth  by  rain. 

Nature's  object  remains  still  unstated  :  the  ^'^i^^"'^ 
constant  result  of  her  work  is  before  us  ;  but 
wherefore  are  these  changes  ?    In  her  wonderful 
economic  system  she  must  form  and  bountifully 


78 


Modern  Cremation 


prodticing 

vegetable 

growth, 


afterwards 
becomhig, 
sooner  or 
later. 


by  turns 
vegetable 
and  aiiiiiial. 


nourish  her  vegetable  progeny ;  twin-brother 
life,  to  her,  with  that  of  animals.  The  perfect 
balance  between  plant  existences  and  animal 
existences  must  always  be  maintained,  while 
"  matter  "  courses  through  the  eternal  circle, 
becoming  each  in  turn. 

To  state  this  more  intelligibly  by  illustra- 
tion :  If  an  animal  be  resolved  into  its  ultimate 
constituents  in  a  period,  according  to  the  sur- 
rounding circumstances,  say,  by  means  of  high 
temperature,  of  four  hours  ;  of  four  years,  or 
even  of  four  thousand  years — for  it  is  impossible 
to  deny  that  there  may  be  instances  of  all  these 
periods  during  which  the  process  has  been 
delayed — those  elements  which  assume  the 
gaseous  form  mingle  with  the  atmosphere,  and 
are  taken  up  from  it  without  delay  by  the 
ever  open  mouths  of  vegetable  life.  By  a 
thousand  pores  in  every  leaf  the  carbonic 
oxide  which  renders  the  atmosphere  unfit  for 
animal  life  is  absorbed,  the  carbon  being  sepa- 
rated and  assimilated  to  form  the  vegetable 
fibre,  which,  as  wood,  makes  our  houses,  furni- 
ture, fences,  vehicles,  and  utensils,  is  burned  for 
our  warmth,  or  is  stored  up  under  pressure  for 
coal.  AH  this  carbon  has  played  its  part,  "  and 
many  parts,"  in  its  time,  as  animal  existences 
from  monad  up  to  man.  Our  mahogany  of 
to-day  has  been  many  negroes  in  its  turn,  and 


Order  of  Changes  effected  by  Nahire  79 


before  the  African  existed  was  integral  portions 

of  many  a  generation  of  extinct  species.  And 

when  the  table,  which  has  borne  so  well  some 

twenty  thousand  dinners,  shall  be  broken  up 

from  pure  debility  and  consigned  to  the  fire, 

thence  it  will  issue  into  the  atmosphere  once 

more  as  carbonic  acid,  again  to  be  devoured  by 

the  nearest  troop  of  hungry  vegetables — green 

peas  or  cabbages  in  a  London  market  garden,  in  ^erj>et7iai 

say— to  be  daintily  served  on  the  table  which 

now  stands  in  that  other  table's  place,  and  where 

they  will  speedily  go  to  the  making  of  "  Lords 

of  the  Creation."    And  so  on,  again  and  again, 

as  long  as  the  world  lasts. 

Thus  it  is  that  an  even  balance  is  kept — 
demonstrable  to  the  very  last  grain  if  we  could  E.vact 
only    collect    the   data— between    the    total  2^^117 th, 
amounts  of  animal  and  of  vegetable  life  exist- 

.  kingdoijis, 

mg  together  at  any  instant  on  our  globe.  There 
must  be  an  unvarying  relation  between  the 
decay  of  animal  life  and  the  food  produced  by 
that  process  for  the  elder  twin,  the  vegetable 
world.  Vegetables  first,  when  consumed  by  the 
lower  animals  directly,  as  their  only  food  ;  or 
indirectly,  as  when  these  are  eaten  by  animals 
which  live  on  flesh.  Secondly,  all  these  animals 
by  a  ceaseless  process  of  throwing  off  effete 
matters  into  the  air  by  respiration,  exhalations 
etc.,  as  well  as  by  decay  after  death,  providing 


8o 


Modern  Cremation 


Decom- 
position of 
all  anitnal 
matter 
offensive  to 
the  living. 


the  staple  food  for  vegetation  of  every  descrip- 
tion. One  the  necessary  complement  of  the 
other.  The  atmosphere,  constantly  polluted  by 
every  animal  from  man  downwards,  whose 
breath  is  poison  to  every  other  animal,  being 
every  instant  purified  by  plants,  which,  remov- 
ing the  deadly  carbonic  acid  of  that  breath  and 
assimilating  carbon,  restore  to  the  air  pure  oxy- 
gen, first  necessary  of  animal  existence. 

I  suppose  that  these  facts  are  known  to 
most  readers,  but  I  require  a  clear  statement  of 
them  here  as  preliminary  to  my  next  subject ; 
and  in  any  case  it  can  do  no  harm  to  reproduce 
a  brief  history  of  this  marvellous  and  beautiful 
example  of  intimate  relation  between  the  two 
kingdoms.* 

I  return  to  consider  man's  interference 
with  the  process  in  question  just  hinted  at 
in  the  quotation,  "  Bury  the  dead  out  of  my 
sight." 

The  process  of  decomposition  affecting  an 
animal  body  is  one  that  has  a  disagreeable, 
injurious,  often  fatal  influence  on  the  living  man 
if  sufficiently  exposed  to  it.  Thousands  of 
human  lives  have  been  cut  short  by  the  poison 
of  slowly  decaying,  and  often  deceased  animal 
matter.    Even  the  putrefaction  of  some  of  the 

*  See  forther  discussion  of  this  subject  in  reply  to  a  recent 
objection  in  Chapter  VI. 


Disregarded  gives  rise  to  Danger  8i 


most  insignificant  animals  has  sufficed  to  de- 
stroy the  noblest.  To  give  an  illustration  which 
comes  nearly  home  to  some  of  us — the  grave- 
yard pollution  of  air  and  water  alone  has 
probably  found  a  victim  in  some  social  circle 
known  to  more  than  one  who  may  chance  to 
read  this  page.  And  I  need  hardly  add  that 
in  times  of  pestilence  its  continuance  has  been 
often  due  mainly  to  the  poisonous  influence  oi 
the  buried  victims. 

Man,  then,  throughout  all  historic  periods, 
has  got  rid  of  his  dead  kin  after  some  fashion.  Hence 
He  has  either  hidden  the  body  in  a  cave  and  J^Slf 
closed  the  opening  to  protect  its  tenant  from 
wild  beasts— for  the  instinct  of  affection  follows 
most  naturally  even  the  sadly  changed  remains 
of  our  dearest  relative— or  the  same  instinct  has 
led  him  to  embalm  and  to  preserve  as  much 
as  may  be  so  preservable,— a  delay  only  of 
Nature's  certain  work ;  or,  the  body  is  buried 
beneath  the  earth's  surface,  in  soil,  in  wood, 
in  stone,  or  metal :— each  mode  another  con- 
trivance to  delay,  but  never  to  prevent,  the 
inevitable  change.    Or,  the  body  is  burned,'  and 
so   restored  at  once  to  its  original  element 
in  which  case  Nature's  work  is  hastened,  her 
behest  zealously  obeyed,  that  is  all.    And  after 
burning,  the  ashes  may  be  wholly  or  in  part 
preserved  in  some  receptacle  in  obedience  to 

G 


82 


Modern  Cremation 


the  better 
mode  ? 


the  instinct  of  the  survivor,  referred  to  above. 
All  forms  of  sepulture  come  more  or  less  undei 
one  of  these  heads.  What  is  called  "  burial  at 
sea  "  is  only  a  form  of  exposure,  the  body  being 
rapidly  devoured  by  marine  animals. 

One  of  the  many  social  questions  waiting  to 
be  solved,  and  which  must  be  solved  at  no  very 
ivhich  is     remote  period,  is,  Which  of  these  various  forms 
of  treatment  of  the  dead  is  the  best  for  sur- 
vivors ? 

This  question  may  be  regarded  from  two 
points  of  view,  both  possessing  importance,  not 
equal  in  degree  perhaps  ;  but  neither  can  be 
ignored. 

1.  From  the  point  of  view  of  Utility :  as  to 
what  is  best  for  the  entire  community. 

2.  From  the  point  of  view  of  Sentiment: 
the  sentiment  of  affectionate  memory  for  the 
deceased,  which  is  cherished  by  the  survivor. 

I  assume  that  there  is  no  point  of  view  to  be 

I.  Ulility  J 

regarded.  j-ggarded  as  specially  belonging  to  the  deceased 
person,  and  that  no  one  believes  that  the  dead 
has  any  interest  in  the  matter.  We  who  live 
may  anxiously  hope— as  I  should  hope  at  least 
—to  do  no  evil  to  survivors  after  death,  what- 
ever we  may  have  done  of  harm  to  others 
during  life.  But,  being  deceased,  I  take  it  we 
can  have  no  wishes  or  feelings  touching  this 
subject.    What  is  the  best  to  be  done  with  the 


hitramtiral  Inter^nents  Forbidden  83 


dead  is  then  mainly  a  question  for  the  living, 
and  to  them  it  is  one  of  extreme  importance. 
When  the  globe  was  thinly  peopled,  and  when 
there  were  no  large  bodies  of  men  living  in 
close  neighbourhood,  the  subject  was  an  in- 
considerable one  and  could  afford  to  wait,  and 
might  indeed  be  left  for  its  solution  to  sentiment 
of  any  kind.  But  the  rapid  increase  of  popu- 
lation forces  it  into  notice,  and  especially  man's 
tendency  to  live  in  crowded  cities.  There  is  no 
necessity  to  prove,  as  the  fact  is  too  patent,  that 
our  present  mode  of  treating  the  dead,  namely, 
that  by  burial  beneath  the  soil,  is  full  of  danger 
to  the  living.  Hence  intra-mural  interment  has 
been  recently  forbidden  by  law — first  step  in  a 
series  of  reforms  which  must  follow.  At  present  The  effects 
we  who  dwell  in  towns  are  able  to  escape  much  7}bt!'af'^^ 
evil  by  selecting  a  portion  of  ground  distant— in 
this  year  of  grace  1873— some  five  or  ten  miles 
from  any  very  populous  neighbourhood,  and  by 
sending  our  dead  to  be  buried  there  .-—laying 
by  poison,  nevertheless,  it  is  certain,  for  our 
descendants,  who  will  find  our  remains 
polluting  their  water  sources,  when  that  now 
distant  plot  is  covered,  as  it  will  be,  more  or  less 
closely  by  human  dwellings.  For  it  can  be  a 
question  of  time  only  when  every  now  waste 
spot  will  be  utilised  for  food-production  or  for 
shelter,  and  when  some  other  mode  of  disposing 


84  Modern  Cremation 

of  the  dead  than  that  of  burial  must  be  adopted. 
If,  therefore,  burial  in  the  soil  be  certainly  in- 
jurious either  now  or  in  the  future,  has  not  the 
time  already  come  to  discuss  the  possibility  of 
replacing  it  by  a  better  process  ?    We  cannot 
too  soon  cease  to  do  evil  and  learn  to  do  well. 
Is  it  not  indeed  a  social  sin  of  no  small  magni- 
tude to  sow  the  seeds  of  disease  and  death 
broadcast,  caring  only  to  be  certain  that  they 
cannot  do  much  harm  to  our  own  generation 
It  may  be  granted,  to  anticipate  objection,  that 
it  is  quite  possible  that  the  bodies  now  buried 
may  have  lost  most,  if  not  all,  of  their  faculty 
for  doing  mischief  by  the  time  that  the  par- 
ticular soil  they  inhabit  is  turned  up  again  to 
the  sun's  rays,  although  this  is  by  no  means 
certain  ;  but  it  is  beyond  dispute  that  the  margin 
of  safety  as  to  time  grows  narrower  year  by 
year,  and  that  pollution  of  wells  and  streams 
which  supply  the  living  must  ere  long  arise 
wherever  we  bury  our  dead  in  this  country. 
Well,  then,  since  every  buried  dead  body  enters 
sooner  or  later  into  the  vegetable  kingdom,  why 
should  we  permit  it,  as  it  does  in  many  cases,  to 
be  capable  of  causing  serious  mischief  during 
the  long  process  ? 
Aneconcnic       Let  US  at  this  poiut  glaucc  at  the  economic 
view  not  to  ^j^g  subjcct,  for  it  is  not  so  unimportant 

be  igtioreci.  •'  .  . 

as,  unconsidered,  it  may  appear.    J:^or  it  is  an 


Economic  Resitlts  of  Cremation  85 

economic  subject  whether  we  will  it  or  not.  No 
doubt  a  sentiment  repugnant  to  any  such  view 
must  arise  in  many  minds,  a  sentiment  alto- 
gether to  be  held  in  respect  and  sympathy.  Be 
it  so,  the  question  remains  strictly  a  question 
of  prime  necessity  in  the  economic  system  of 
a  crowded  country.  Nature  will  have  it  so, 
whether  we  like  it  or  not.  She  destines  the 
material  elements  of  my  body  to  enter  the 
vegetable  world  on  purpose  to  supply  another 
animal  organism  which  takes  my  place.  She 
wants  me,  and  I  must  go.  There  is  no  help  for 
it.  When  shall  I  follow — with  quick  obedience, 
or  unwillingly,  truant-like,  traitor-like,  to  her 
and  her  grand  design  ?  Her  capital  is  intended 
to  bear  good  interest  and  to  yield  quick  return  : 
all  her  ways  prove  it — "  increase  and  multiply  " 
is  her  first  and  constant  law.  Shall  her  riches 
be  hid  in  earth  to  corrupt  and  bear  no  present 
fruit ;  or  be  utilized,  without  loss  of  time,  value, 
and  interest,  for  the  benefit  of  starving  sur- 
vivors t  Nature  hides  no  talent  in  a  napkin  ; 
we,  her  unprofitable  servants  only,  thwart  her 
ways  and  delay  the  consummation  of  her  will. 

Is  a  practical  illustration  required  ?  Nothing 
is  easier.  London  was  computed,  by  the  census 
of  1 87 1,  to  contain  3,254,260  persons,  of  whom 
80,430  died  within  the  year.  I  have  come  to 
the   conclusion,  after  a  very  carefully  made 


86 


Modern  Cremation 


estimate,  that  the  amount  of  ashes  and  bone- 
earth,  such  as  is  derived  by  perfect  combustion, 
belonging  to  and  buried  with  those  persons,  is 
by  weight  about  206,820  lbs.  The  pecuniary 
value  of  this  highly  concentrated  form  of  animal 
solids  is  very  considerable.  For  this  bone-earth 
may  be  regarded  as  equivalent  to  at  least  six  or 
seven  times  its  weight  of  dried  but  unburned 
bones,  as  they  ordinarily  exist  in  commerce. 
The  amount  of  other  solid  matters  resolvable 
by  burning  into  the  gaseous  food  of  plants,  but 
rendered  unavailable  by  burial  for,  say,  fifty  or  a 
hundred  years  or  more,  is  about  5,584,000  lbs.,  the 
value  of  which  is  quite  incalculable,  but  it  is  cer- 
tainly enormous  as  compared  with  the  preceding. 

This  is  for  the  population  of  the  metropolis 
only  :  that  of  the  United  Kingdom  for  the  same 
year  amounted  to  31,483,700  persons,  or  nearly 
ten  times  the  population  of  London.  Taking 
into  consideration  a  somewhat  lower  death-rate 
for  the  imperial  average,  it  will  at  all  events  be 
quite  within  the  limit  of  truthful  statement  to 
multiply  the  above  quantities  by  nine  in  order 
to  obtain  the  amount  of  valuable  economic 
material  annually  diverted  in  the  United  King- 
dom for  a  long  term  of  years  from  its  ultimate 
destiny  by  our  present  method  of  interment. 
Ammai  The  necessary  complement  of  this  ceaseless 

costofboni,s  of  commodity  most  precious  to  organic 

intp07-tcd 


A  Qtiestion  which  must  be  Considered  87 

life,  and  which  must  be  replaced,  or  the  popu- 
lation could  not  exist,  is  the  purchase  by  this 
country  of  that  same  material  from  other 
countries  less  populous  than  our  own,  and  which 
can,  therefore,  at  present  spare  it.  This  we  do 
to  the  amount  of  much  more  than  half  a  million 
pounds  sterling  per  annum.* 

Few  persons,  I  believe,  have  any  notion  that 
these  importations  of  foreign  bones  are  rendered 
absolutely  necessary  by  the  hoarding  of  our  own 
some  six  feet  below  the  surface.  The  former 
we  acquire  at  a  large  cost,  paying  a  high  price 
for  them  and  for  freight.  The  latter  we  place,  not  . 
in  the  upper  soil,  where  they  would  be  utilized, 
but  in  the  lower  soil,  where  they  are  not  merely 
useless,  but  where  they  often  mingle  with  and 
pollute  the  streams  which  furnish  our  tables. 
And  in  order  to  effect  this  absurd,  if  not  wicked, 
result,  we  incur  a  lavish  expenditure  !  I  refer,  cost  of 
of  course,  to  the  enormous  sums  which  are 
wasted  in  effecting  burial  according  to  our  pre- 
sent custom,  a  part  of  the  question  which  can 
by  no  means  be  passed  over.  For  the  funeral 
rites  of  the  80,000  in  London  last  year,  let  a 

*  Value  of  bones  imported  into  the  United  Kingdom,  of 
which  by  far  the  larger  jjart  is  employed  for  manure,  was  in— 

1866  £409,590 

1869  600,029 

1872  753,185 

Siatistical  Abstract,  No.  20  (Spottiswoode  :  1873), 


88 


Modern  Cremation 


mean  cost  of  ten  pounds  per  head  be  accepted 
as  an  estimate  which  certainly  does  not  err  on 
the  side  of  excess.*  Eight  hundred  thousand 
pounds  must  therefore  be  reckoned  as  absolute 
loss,  to  the  costs  already  incurred  in  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  system.  Thus  we  pay  every  way 
and  doubly  for  our  folly. 
The  sub-  What,  then,  is  it  proposed  to  substitute  for 

stitute  for 

burial.  this  custom  of  burial  ?  The  answer  is  easy  and 
simple.  Do  that  which  is  done  in  all  good 
work  of  every  kind — follow  Nature's  indication, 
and  do  the  work  she  does,  but  do  it  better  and 
more  rapidly.  For  example,  in  the  human 
body  she  sometimes  throws  off  a  diseased 
portion  in  order  to  save  life,  by  slow  and  clumsy 
efforts,  it  is  true,  and  productive  of  much  suffer- 
ing ;  the  surgeon  removes  the  unsound  part 
rapidly  and  better,  follows  her  lead,  and  im- 

*  Items  comprised  in  the  calculation — 

1.  Cost  of  shroud,  coffin,  labour  of  digging  a  grave — 

essential  now  in  all  burials. 

2.  Cost  of  funeral  carriages,  horses,  trappings,  and  ac- 

coutrements. 
Ornamental  coffins  in  wood  and  metal. 
Vaults  and  monumental  art— more  or  less  emplo)'ed  in 

all  funerals  above  the  rank  of  pauper. 

The  cost  of  simple  modes  of  transit  is  not  included  in  the 
calculation,  because  necessary  in  any  case,  whatever  the  desti- 
nation of  the  body.  The  above-named  items  are  only  necessary 
in  the  case  of  interment  in  a  grave,  and  not  one  would  be 
required,  for  example,  in  the  case  of  cremation,  or  burning  of 
the  body. 


How  Cremation  Solves  the  Problem  89 

proves  on  it.  Nature's  many  agents,  laden  with 
power,  the  over-action  of  which  is  harmful,  we 
cannot  stop,  but  we  tame,  guide,  and  make 
them  our  most  profitable  servants.  So  here, 
also,  let  us  follow  her.  The  naturally  slow  and 
disagreeable  process  of  decomposition,  which  we 
have  made  by  one  mode  of  treatment  infinitely 
more  slow  and  not  less  repulsive,  we  can  by 
another  mode  of  treatment  greatly  shorten  and 
accomplish  without  offence  to  the  living.  What 
in  this  particular  matter  is  naturally  the  work 
of  weeks  or  months,  can  be  perfectly  done  in  an 
hour  or  two. 

The  problem  to  be  worked  is  :  Given  a  dead  The  pro- 

.  bleiu  solved 

body,  to  resolve  it  into  its  constituent  elements, 

by  burning. 

rapidly,  safely,  and  not  unpleasantly. 

The  answer  may  be  practically  supplied  in 
a  properly  constructed  furnace.  The  gases  can 
be  driven  off  without  offensive  odour,  the 
mineral  constituents  will  remain  in  a  crucible. 
The  gases  will  ere  night  be  consumed  by  plants 
and  trees.  The  ashes  or  any  portion  of  them 
may  be  preserved  in  a  funeral  urn,  or  may  be 
scattered  on  the  fields,  which  latter  is  their 
righteous  destination.  No  scents  or  balsams 
are  needed,  as  on  Greek  and  Roman  piles,  to 
overcome  the  noxious  effluvia  of  a  corpse 
burned  in  open  air.  Modern  science  is  equal 
to  the  task  of  thus  removing  the  dead  of  a 


90  Modern  Cremation 


great  city  without  instituting  any  form  of 
nuisance  ;  none  such  as  those  we  tolerate  every- 
where from  many  factories,  both  to  air  and 
streams.  Plans  for  the  accomplishment  of  this 
have  been  considered  ;  but  discussion  of  the 
subject  alone  is  aimed  at  here.  To  treat  our 
dead  after  this  fashion  would  return  millions 
of  capital  without  delay  to  the  bosom  of  mother 
earth,  who  would  give  us  back  large  returns  at 
compound  interest  for  the  deposit. 

But  the  question  also  demands  consideration 
2.  The       from  the  point  of  view  of  sentiment.  And 

7H6TV  of 

sentiment,  what  has  Sentiment  to  urge  on  behalf  of  the 
present  process  ?  Let  us  see  what  the  process 
by  burial  is. 

So  far  as  I  dare !  for  could  I  paint  in  its 
true  colours  the  ghastly  picture  of  that  which 
happens  to  the  mortal  remains  of  the  dearest 
we  have  lost,  the  page  would  be  too  deeply 
stained  for  publication.  I  forbear,  therefore, 
to  trace  the  steps  of  the  process  which  begins 
so  soon  and  so  painfully  to  manifest  itself  after 
that  brief  hour  has  passed,  during  which  "  she 
lay  beautiful  in  death."  Such  loveliness  as  that 
I  agree  it  might  be  treason  to  destroy,  could 
its  existence  be  perpetuated,  and  did  not  Nature 
so  ruthlessly  and  so  rapidly  blight  hei  own 
handiwork,  in  furtherance  of  her  own  grand 
purpose.    The  sentiment  of  the  survivor  on 


Sentiment,  as  affected  by  Cremation  .91 

behalf  of  preserving  the  beauty  of  form  and 
expression,  were  it  possible  to  do  so,  would, 
I  confess,  go  far  to  neutralize  the  argument 
based  on  utility,  powerful  as  it  is.  But  a 
glimpse  of  the  reality  which  we  achieve  by 
burial  would  annihilate  in  an  instant  every 
sentiment  for  continuing  that  process.  Nay, 
more  ;  it  would  arouse  a  powerful  repugnance 
to  the  horrible  notion  that  we  too  must  some 
day  become  so  vile  and  offensive,  and,  it  may 
be,  so  dangerous  ;  a  repugnance  surmountable 
only  through  the  firm  belief  that  after  death 
the  condition  of  the  body  is  a  matter  of  utter 
indifference  to  its  dead  life-tenant.  Surely  if 
we,  the  living,  are  to  have  sentiments,  or  to 
exercise  any  choice  about  the  condition  of  our 
bodies  after  death,  those  sentiments  and  that 
choice  must  be  in  favour  of  a  physical  condition 
which  cannot  be  thought  of  either  as  repulsive 
in  itself  or  as  injurious  to  others. 

There  is  a  source  of  very  painful  dread,  as, 
I  have  reason  to  know,  little  talked  of,  it  is  true, 
but  keenly  felt  by  many  persons  at  some  time 
or  another,  the  horror  of  which  to  some  is 
inexpressible.  It  is  the  dread  of  a  premature  Premahr.-e 
burial ;  the  fear  lest  some  deep  trance  should 
be  mistaken  for  death,  and  that  the  awakening 
should  take  place  too  late.  Happily  such  oc- 
currences  are  very  rare,   especially  in  this 


92  Modern  Cremation 


Reliecious 
rites  equally 
applicable 
to  burial 
and 

cremation. 


One  sure 
viark  that 
death  has 
occu7red. 


country,  where  the  interval  between  death  and 
burial  is  considerable,  and  the  fear  is  almost  a 
groundless  one.  Still,  the  conviction  that  such 
a  fate  is  possible,  and  doubtless  has  sometimes 
occurred,  is  a  ceaseless  terror  to  some.  With 
cremation  no  such  catastrophe  could  ever  occur  ; 
since  inspection  of  the  entire  body  must  of 
necessity  immediately  precede  the  act  of  crema- 
tion, no  such  inspection  being  possible  under  the 
present  system.* 

In  order  to  meet  a  possible  objection  to 
the  substitution  of  cremation  for  burial,  let  me 
observe  that  the  former  is  equally  susceptible 
with  the  latter  of  association  with  religious 
funereal  rites,  if  not  more  so.  Never  could  the 
solemn  and  touching  words  "ashes  to  ashes, 
dust  to  dust,"  be  more  appropriately  uttered 
than  over  a  body  about  to  be  consigned  to  the 
furnace  ;  while,  with  a  view  to  metaphor,  the 
dissipation  of  almost  the  whole  body  in  the 
atmosphere  in  the  ethereal  form  of  gaseous 

*  In  connection  with  this  subject  it  should  never  be  forgotten 
that  there  is  but  one  really  trustworthy  proof  that  death  has 
occurred  in  any  given  instance,  viz.  the  presence  of  a  manifest 
sign  of  commencing  decomposition.  This  condition  is  always 
ascertainable  at  all  events  to  the  professional  eye,  and  it  should 
always  be  verified  before  a  certificate  of  death  is  signed.  Un- 
happily, no  special  attention  to  it  is  demanded  under  the  present 
national  system  of  registration.  In  the  inquiry  invariably 
adopted  by  the  Cremation  Society  the  inspection  is  enforced  and 
the  answer  must  be  recorded  by  the  medical  man  who  signs  the 
certificate. — 1 899. 


Harmonises  with  Religious  Service  93 

matter  is  far  more  suggestive  as  a  type  of  • 
another  and  a  brighter  life,  than  the  consign- 
ment of  the  body  to  the  abhorred  prison  of  the 
tomb. 

I  do  not  propose  to  describe  here  the  pro- 
cesses which  have  been  employed,  or  any 
improved  system  which  might  be  adopted  for 
the  purpose  of  ensuring  rapid  and  perfect  com- 
bustion of  the  body,  although  much  might  be 
said  in  reference  to  these  matters.    There  is  no  The  mode  of 

,  ,  perforjiiing 

doubt  that  further  experiments  and  research 

creniatio7i 

are  wanting  for  the  practical  improvement  of  "''^74- 
the  process,  especially  if  required  to  be  con- 
ducted on  a  large  scale.  Something  has  been 
already  accomplished  and  with  excellent  results. 
I  refer  to  recent  examples  of  the  process  as 
practised  by  Dr.  L.  Brunetti,  Professor  of  Patho-  Brttnetti's 
logical  Anatomy  in  the  University  of  Padua. 
These  were  exhibited  at  the  Exposition  of 
Vienna,  where  I  had  the  opportunity  of  ex- 
amining them  with  care.  Professor  Brunetti 
exposed  the  residue  from  bodies  and  parts  of 
bodies  on  which  he  had  practised  cremation  by 
different  methods,  and  the  results  of  his  latest 
experience  may  be  summarized  as  follows  :  The 
whole  process  of  incineration  of  a  human  adult 
body  occupied  three  and  a  half  hours.  The 
ashes  and  bone-earth  weighed  170  kilo. — about 
three  pounds  and  three-quarters  avoirdupois. 


94 


Modern  Cremation 


They  were  of  a  delicate  white,  and  were  con- 
tained in  a  glass  box  about  twelve  inches  long, 
by  eight  inches  wide,  and  eight  deep.  The 
quantity  of  wood  used  to  effect  absolute  and 
complete  incineration,  may  be  estimated  at 
about  150  pounds  by  weight.  He  adds  that 
"  its  cost  was  one  florin  and  twenty  kreuzers  " — 
about  two  shillings  and  fourpence  English. 
The  box  was  that  marked  No.  IX.  in  the  case, 
which  was  No.  4149  in  the  catalogue. 

But  there  are  other  considerations  in  favour 
of  cremation  which  might  be  adduced,  of  which 
I  shall  name  only  two;  namely,  ^he  opportunity 
it  offers  of  escape  from  the  ghastly  but  costly 
ceremonial  which  mostly  awaits  our  remains 
after  death.  How  often  have  the  slender  shares 
of  the  widow  and  orphan  been  diminished  in 
order  to  testify,  and  so  unnecessarily,  their 
loving  memory  of  the  deceased,  by  display  of 
plumes  and  silken  scarves  about  the  unconscious 
clay !  And  again  how  prolific  of  mischief  to  the 
living  is  the  attendance  at  the  burial-ground, 
with  uncovered  head,  and  damp-struck  feet,  in 
pitiless  weather,  at  the  chilling  rite  of  sepulture  ! 
Not  a  few  deaths  have  been  clearly  traceable 
to  the  act  of  offering  that  "  last  tribute  of 
respect." 

Perhaps  no  great  change  can  be  expected  at 
present  in  the  public  opinions  current,  or  rather 


Considerations  favouring  Cremation  95 
in  the  conventional  views  which  obtain,  on  the  The  shrine 

ill  niv-  ^  contmmng 

subiect  of  burial,  so  ancient  is  the  practice,  and  imperishable 

•'  •  1  J.*  4-        f  remains 

SO  closely  associated  is  it  with  sentiments  01  ,,curedby 
affection  and  reverence  for  the  deceased.    To  ^''^"'"^""^ 
many  persons,  any  kind  of  change  in  our  treat- 
ment of  the  dead  will  be  suggestive  of  sacri- 
legious interference,  however  remote,  either  in 
fact  or  by  resemblance,  such  change  may  be. 
Millions  still  cherish  deep  emotions  connected 
both  with  the  past  and  the  future  in  relation  to 
the  "Campo  Santo,"  and  the  annual  "Jour  des 
Morts."    And  many  of  these  might  be  slow  to 
learn  that,  if  the  preservation  of  concrete  re- 
mains and  the  ability  to  offer  the  tribute  of 
devotion   at   a  shrine   be  desired,  cremation 
equally,  if  not  better  than  burial,  secures  those 
ends.    On  the  other  hand,  I  know  how  many 
there  are,  both  in  this  country  and  abroad,  who 
only  require  the  assurance  that  cremation  is 
practically  attainable  to  declare  their  strong 
preference  for  it,  and  to  substitute  it  for  what 
they  conceive  to  be  the  present  defective  and 
repulsive  procedure.    A  few  such  might,  by 
combination  for  the  purpose,  easily  examine  the 
subject  still  further  by  experiment,  and  would 
ultimately  secure  the  power  if  they  desired  to 
put  it  in  practice  for  themselves.     And  the 
consideration  of  the  subject  which  such  ex- 
amples would  afford  could  not  fail  to  hasten 


96  Modern  Cremation 

the  adoption  of  what  I  am  fairly  entitled  to 
call  the  Natural,  in  place  of  the  present 
Artificial,  treatment  of  the  body  after  death. 


[The  foregoing  paper  having  appeared  in 
the  *  Contemporary '  of  January,  1 874,  a  reply 
from  Mr.  Holland,  at  that  time  Medical  In- 
spector of  Burials  for  England  and  Wales, 
appeared  in  February ;  the  following  paper, 
defending  his  original  statements,  was  published 
by  the  author  in  the  March  number  of  that 
journal] 


The  'Original  Argti7nent'  Continued  97 


SECOND  PAPER  ON  CREMATION, 
March  1874. 

A  REPLY  TO  CRITICS,  AND  AN  EXPOSITION  OF 
THE  PROCESS. 


I  CONFESS  that  it  is  not  without  some  surprise  Reception 
that  I  find  my  proposal  to  substitute  cremation  ZZtltei 
for  burial  as  a  sanitary  reform  formally  opposed  = 
in  the  last  number  of  the  Contemporary  by  a 
member  of  the  medical  profession.    From  the 
general  public,  on  account  of  its  natural  and 
tender  sympathy  with  ancient  customs,  especially 
when  hallowed  by  religious  rite,  I  had  expected 
adverse  criticism.     From  those  who  are  in- 
terested, or  believe  themselves  to  be  so,  in  the 
celebration  of  funereal  pomps  and  ceremonials 
of  all  kinds,  a  protest  was  also  not  unlikely  to 
be  heard. 

In  all  this,  however,  I  have  been  mistaken. 
So  far  from  encountering  opposition,  I  have 
received  encouragement  and  support  from  all 
classes  to  an  extent  which  would  have  been  to 
me  almost  incredible  had  I  not  witnessed  it. 

Clergymen  are  anxious  to  demonstrate  how  " 
few  are  the  words   requiring  change  in  our 

H 


98  Modern  Cremation 


more 

favourable 
than 

anticipated. 


Among 
se^ieral 
opponents 
one  has 
apj>cared 
•with  special 
guali_fica- 
Hons  for  . 
the  contest. 


Burial  Service  to  render  it  wholly  applicable 
to  cremation.  The  public  press  has  all  but 
unanimously  spoken  favourably  of  the  scheme, 
demanding  only  to  be  assured  on  certain 
grounds  of  possible  objection,  with  which 
presently  I  shall  have  to  deal.  Persons  in  all 
ranks  and  stations  of  life  write  to  me  to  say 
there  is  nothing  they  would  more  gladly  obtain 
than  the  assurance  that  their  wish  to  be  burned 
after  death  could  be  realised  without  difficulty. 

And,  lastly,  I  am  bound  to  say  that  the 
much — perhaps  too  much — abused  undertaker, 
with  a  knowledge  of  the  world  and  a  breadth  of 
view  for  which  some  might  not  have  given  him 
credit,  has  said  to  me,  "  I  only  desire  to  supply 
the  public  want :  as  long  as  the  public  demands 
funeral  cars,  magnificent  horses,  display  of 
feathers,  and  a  host  of  attendants  in  black,  I 
must  furnish  them;  but  I  am  equally  ready  to 
perform  cremation  to-morrow  if  the  public 
demand  it,  and  if  you  will  tell  me  how  to  do 
it  properly."  And  I  find  him  an  ally  at  once, 
and  not  an  enemy. 

Surprised,  then,  as  I  am,  equally  at  the 
number  of  my  friends,  and  at  the  quarter 
whence  my  one  opponent  arises,  it  is  with  no 
little  satisfaction,  since  I  am  to  have  an  op- 
ponent, that  I  find  him  to  be  one  so  well 
qualified  for  the  task  ;  the  writer  of  the  article 


Mr.  Holland: s  Defence  of  Burial  99 

in  question  being  no  less  an  authority  than 
the  Medical  Inspector  of  Burials  for  England 
and  Wales  to  the  Home  Department.  I  feel 
sure,  then,  that  all  that  can  be  said  in  defence 
of  burial  and  in  opposition  to  cremation  will 
be  urged  by  so  experienced  and  redoubtable  an 
antagonist:  one  who,  according  to  his  own 
showing,  has  had  a  large  share  in  controlling 
and  directing  the  public  money  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  Cemeteries  during  the  last  twenty 
years.  And,  after  all,  I  cannot  wonder,  seeing 
how  extensive  is  his  acquaintance  with  the 
present  state  of  these  matters,  and  how  closely 
he  himself  is  identified  with  them,  that  he  should 
intimate  at  the  outset  that  in  itself  my  paper 
"  is  not  worth  a  reply,"  "  the  theory  on  which 
its  main  conclusion  is  based  being  so  entirely 
without  reasonable  foundation." 

He,  nevertheless,  consents  to  discuss  the 
subject,  although  he  fails  to  specify  the  theory 
thus  stigmatized.  As  I  intend  to  examine  the 
article  carefully,  the  omission  will  probably  not 
be  important.  The  following  may  be  accepted 
as  a  fair  summary  of  the  views  expressed  in  it. 
Mr.  Holland  admits  the  great  evils  of  burial  Mr. 
when  it  is  adopted  within  the  limits  of  the  town  ;  ^admZluns. 
but  believes  that,  "  amply  large  and  well-situated 
cemeteries  "  having  been  established,  for  which 

"  a   heavy   expense   has   been    incurred " — if, 

n  2 


lOO  Modern  Cremation 


furthermore,  they  are  not  too  much  crowded  at 
first,  and  are  not  too  soon  disturbed  afterwards, 
it  is  "  possible  for  burial  to  be  continued  without 
danger,  that  is,  without,  not  the  possibility,  but 
the  probability  of  injury."  All  these  advan- 
tages granted,  even  then  cemeteries  "  may  be 
mismanaged  so  as  to  become  unsafe,  ...  for  so 
long  as  men  are  men,  mistakes,  and  worse  than 
mistakes,  will  occasionally  occur  ; "  and  he  states 
that  "  the  real  danger  from  a  well-situated  and 
well-managed  cemetery,  large  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  its  burials,  is  not  larger  than  that 
of  a  well-managed  railway." 

We  learn,  then,  from  her  Majesty's  Inspector 
that  burial  is  by  no  means  a  certainly  innocuous 
procedure  ;  although,  provided  all  the  conditions 
named  above  are  present — which,  by  the  way, 
is  by  no  means  always  the  case  in  our  very 
popular  suburban  cemeteries — much  mischief 
may  not  occur. 

In  addition  to  this,  he  combats  at  some 
length  views  which  he  quite  erroneously  at- 
tributes to  me  ;  and  also  imputes  inaccuracy  in 
a  statement  of  mine  relative  to  chemical  changes, 
which  imputation  I  shall  prove  to  be  wholly 
without  foundation. 

It  is  on  these  grounds  that  Mr.  Holland 
advocates  burial,  and  he  is  bold  enough  to  assert 
its  superiority  to  cremation,  although,  it  appears. 


Evils  of  Bttrial  Underestimated  loi 

he  has  had  no  experience  whatever  of  the  latter 
process  !  I  doubt  whether  he  ever  witnessed  an 
experiment,  much  less  has  performed  one  him- 
self;  indeed,  I  am  compelled  to  infer  from  his 
remarks  that  he  knows  nothing  of  it  beyond  the 
account  which  I  have  given  of  the  experiments 
by  Brunetti  of  Padua,  the  results  of  which, 
although  excellent,  are  very  inferior  to  those 
which  might  easily  be  attained.  He  feels  bound 
to  admit  that,  "  no  doubt,  if  sufficient  care  be 
taken,  no  actual  nuisance  need  be  caused  "  by 
cremation,  but  qualifies  the  admission  by  sug- 
gesting that  the  process  "  is  far  more  liable  to 
mishaps"  than  burial,  "such  mishaps  as  must 
be  occasionally  expected  causing  far  more  dis- 
gusting nuisance,  far  more  difficult  of  conceal- 
ment." 

To  all  this  I  shall  reply :  first,  that  the  evils  He  under 

1.11  •  11        T\  /r  estimates 

of  burial  are  far  too  lightly  estimated  by  Mr. 

the  evils 

Holland,  respecting  which  I  will  adduce  over-  "■^^"'"'^^^ 
whelming  testimony  of  a  kind  that  he  will  not 
question  or  deny. 

Secondly,  that  the  plan  of  cremation  I  have 
myself  adopted  and  will  now  advise,  is  wholly  and  ex. 
free  from  objections  of  the  kind  Mr.  Holland  "'^^Ibjll' 
has  imagined  to  exist ;  that  it  is  complete  in  its  J'^^jJ^ 
results,  and  is  absolutely  causeless  of  danger  or 
offence  to  others. 

The  evils  inflicted  on  the  living  by  the  burial 


retnation. 


T 


I02 


Modern  Cremation 


Eviiscaused  of  the  dead,  I  find  myself  compelled  to  demon- 

to  the  _  ...  -IT 

living  by  strate.  Jn  my  origmal  article  I  assumed  these 
^vZfJrated.  ^(6  Well  knowH  and  universally  admitted,  and 
had  no  idea  that  evidence  on  this  subject  could 
be  required.  This,  however,  was  an  error. 
Thus  I  have  several  times  been  asked  quite 
gravely  by  young  men,  well  educated  and  in- 
telligent, if  it  were  an  ascertained  fact  that 
decaying  dead  bodies  within  a  grave  could 
really  induce  disease  in  the  living :  true,  they 
might  give  rise  to  horrible  effluvia,  and  be  very 
disagreeable,  but  were  they  positively  harmful  ? 
And  one  journal  of  high  repute  suggests,  as 
worthy  of  consideration,  whether  solicitude  on 
these  matters  does  not  betray  an  undue  care  for 
the  preservation  of  life,  and  regards  an  attempt 
to  control  this  fertile  source .  of  disease,  as 
dictated  by  "  a  constant  and  morbid  fear  of 
death  "  !  For  all  this  remarkable  ignorance  of 
the  subject  I  can  only  account  by  the  fact,  that 
The  horrors  ^  generation  has  risen  up  since  that  notable 
revealed      rcvclation  was  made  of  horrors  in  the  London 

fifty  years 

ago  now      churchyards  which  the  older  men  of  our  time 

forgotten.  1  .  1 

can  never  forget,  but  which  the  younger  men 
never  knew. 

Some  five-and-twenty  years  (1874)  have 
elapsed  since  a  systematic  examination  of  the 
churches  and  graveyards  of  the  Metropolis  was 
made  by  the  most  eminent  and  trustworthy  men 


Hence  Intra-mural  Bitrial  now  Illegal  103 

of  the  day,  when  details  were  brought  to  light 
which,  at  that  time,  smote  the  public  with 
horror. 

The  result  was  that  Acts  of  Parliament  were 
passed  prohibiting  intra-mural  interment.  The 
poisonous  abominations  were  removed,  vaults 
were  hermetically  sealed,  and  the  dead  were 
carried  miles  away;  nevertheless  the  same 
detestable  process  of  putrefaction  goes  on,  al- 
though it  is,  at  present,  beyond  the  reach  of 
our  senses,  and  only  now  and  then  obtrudes 
itself  on  our  notice. 

My  task,  however,  becomes  yet  more  neces- 
sary, since  we  have  before  us  to-day  a  Medical 
Inspector  of  Burials,  who,  while  admitting,  with 
manifest  reluctance,  that  some  danger  still 
attaches  to  the  process  of  interment,  comes 
forward  to  advise  the  public,  with  all  the  weight 
of  his  experience,  to  continue  that  practice, 
instead  of  inquiring,  which  he  has  not  done, 
whether  a  mode  of  disposing  of  the  body  may 
not  exist  which  is  absolutely  harmless  and 
devoid  of  all  the  evils  named  above. 

It  is  clear,  then,  that,  for  the  sake  of  the 
general  reader  at  all  events,  it  is  necessary  to 
refer,  although  briefly,  to  the  indubitable  evi- 
dence which  exists  relative  to  this  subject. 

For  his  information  let  me  state  that  the  The  ziives- 
"General  Board  of  Health"  made,  in  1849,  a  ^Ull',""' 


04  Modern  Cremation 


special  investigation,  commissioning  for  the 
purpose  Drs.  Southwood  Smith,  Chadwick, 
Mih-oy,  Sutherland,  Waller  Lewis,  some  of  the 
earliest  authorities  in  sanitary  science,  and  others, 
to  conduct  a  searching  inquiry  into  the  state  of 
the  burial-grounds  of  London  and  large  provin- 
cial towns,  and  to  devise  a  scheme  for  extra- 
mural sepulture.  From  their  report,*  which 
abounds  in  information.  I  shall  make  two  or 
three  extracts. 

Happily,  any  minute  description  of  the  state 
of  the  graveyards  and  their  contents  which 
resulted  from  "the  present  practice  of  interment 
in  towns  "  need  not  be  given.  It  will  suffice  for 
our  purpose  to  observe  that  the  reporters  say, 
Extracts     "We  shall  be  under  the  necessity  of  makine 

from  the 

remarkable    statements  of  a  very  painful  nature,  and  some- 

report.  ,  .  ^  .  ,  .  , 

times  of  representmg  scenes   which  we  feel 

*  Report  on  a  General  Scheme  for  Extra-mural  Sepulttire 
(Clowes  and  Sons  :  1850). 

(Signed)  Carlisle. 

Ashley. 

Edwin  Chadwick. 
T.  Southwood  Smith. 

The  subject  had  been  examined  before  by  official  authority ; 
and  at  an  early  period  by  Walker,  whose  work  on  Graveyards 
is  well  known,  and  contains  much  information.  (Longmans, 
London  :  1839.) 

A  Special  hiquiry  into  the  Practice  of  Intertnent  in  Towns, 
by  Edwin  Chadwick  (London  :  1843),  is  replete  with  evidence, 
and  should  be  read  by  those  who  desire  to  pursue  the  inquiry 
further. 


Examples  of  Evils  Previously  Existing  105 

most  reluctant  publicly  to  exhibit ;  but  we 
should  ill  discharge  the  duty  entrusted  to  us  if 
we  were  to  shrink  from  the  full  disclosure  of 
the  truth— more  especially  as  a  thorough  know  - 
ledge  of  the  evil  is  indispensable  to  an  appre- 
ciation of  the  only  effectual  remedy."  * 

Passing  over  these  details,  I  quote  again  as 
follows  :  "  We,"  say  the  reporters,  "  may  safely 
rest  the  sanitary  part  of  the  case  on  the  single 
fact,  that  the  placing  of  the  dead  body,  in  a 
grave  and  covering  it  with  a  few  feet  of  earth 
does  not  prevent  the  gases  generated  by  de- 
composition, together  with  putrescent  matters 
which  they  hold  in  suspension,  from  permeating 
the  surrounding  soil,  and  escaping  into  the  air 
above  and  the  water  beneath," 

After  supporting  this  statement  by  illustra- 
tions of  the  enormous  force  exercised  by  gases 
of  decomposition,  in  bursting  open  leaden 
coffins,  whence  they  issue  without  restraint, 
the  reporters  quote  the  evidence  of  Dr.  Lyon 
Playfair  (late  H.M.  Postmaster- General)  to  the 
following  effect  : — 

"  I   have    examined,"  he    says,   "  various  Dr.  Lyon 
churchyards  and  burial-grounds  for  the  purpose  St'' 
of  ascertaining    whether  the  layer  of  earth 
above  the  bodies  is  sufficient  to  absorb  the 
putrid  gases  evolved.    The  slightest  inspection 

*  Vide  the  foregoing  «'  Report,  &c.,"  p.  5. 


io6  Modern  Cremation 

n'hffnce  '  shows  that  they  are  not  thoroughly  absorbed 
by  the  soil  lying  over  the  bodies.  I  know- 
several  churchyards  from  which  most  foetid 
smells  are  evolved ;  and  gases  with  similar 
odour  are  emitted  from  the  sides  of  sewers 
passing  in  the  vicinity  of  churchyards,  although 
they  may  be  more  than  thirty  feet  from  them." 

He  goes  on  to  estimate  the  amount  of 
gases  which  issue  from  the  graveyard  and  esti- 
mates that  for  the  52,000  annual  interments 
of  the  Metropolis  *  no  less  a  quantity  than 
2,572,580  cubic  feet  of  gases  is  emitted,  "the 
whole  of  which,  beyond  what  is  absorbed  by 
the  soil,  must  pass  into  the  water  below  or  the 
atmosphere  above." 

The  foregoing  is  but  one  small  item  from 
the  long  list  of  illustrative  cases  proving  the  fact 
that  no  dead  body  is  ever  buried  within  the 
earth  without  polluting  the  soil,  the  water,  and 
the  air  around  and  above  it ;  the  extent  of  the 
offence  produced  corresponding  with  the  amount 
of  decaying  animal  matter  subjected  to  the 
process. 

But  "  offence  "  only  is  proved  :  is  the  result 

*  A  number  which  has  already  reached  80,000,  in  1873,  so 
rapid  is  the  increase  of  population.  The  above  was  written  in 
1849. 

It  has  been  stated  by  some  that  the  mere  contact  of  the  corpse 
with  fresh  earth  suffices  for  safe  disinfection  !  Such  a  monstrous 
delusion  is  disposed  of  by  this  evidence. 


By  Unimpeachable  Evidence  107 

not  only  disagreeable,   but   injurious   to  the 
living? 

The  Report  referred  to  gives  notable  ex-  Extracts 

r  1        an       '      from  the 

amples  of  the  fatal  influence  of  such  effluvia  ,.,p„.t,^ 
when  encountered  in  a  concentrated  form  ;  one  ^l'^^^^' 
being  that  of  two  gravediggers  who,  in  1841, 
perished  in  descending  into  a  grave  in  St. 
Botolph's  churchyard,  Aldgate.  Such  are,  how- " 
ever,  extremely  exceptional  instances  ;  but  our 
reporter  goes  on  to  say  that  there  is  abundant 
evidence  of  the  injurious  action  of  these  gases 
in  a  more  diluted  state,  and  cites  the  well- 
demonstrated  fact  that  "  cholera  was  unusually 
prevalent  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of 
London  graveyards."  I  cannot  cite,  on  account 
of  its  length,  a  paragraph  by  Dr.  Sutherland 
attesting  this  fact :  while  the  many  pages  detail- 
ing Dr.  Milroy's  inspection  of  numerous  grave- 
yards are  filled  with  evidence  which  is  quite 
conclusive,  and  describe  scenes  which  must  be 
read  by  those  who  desire  further  acquaintance 
with  the  subject* 

Dr.  Waller  Lewis  reports  the  mischievous  Dr.  Waiur 
results  of  breathing  the  pestiferous  air  of  vaults,  ^/Xw. 
and  the  kind  of  illness  produced  by  it.f  His 

*  See  independent  examples  on  each  of  pages  13,  14,  15,  17, 
18,  21,  26,  28,  43-46,  and  many  others  in  the  Report  above 
quoted,  p.  29. 

t  See  also  Chadwick's  Special  Inquiry,  for  numerous  illus- 
trations. 


11^ 


io8 


Modern  Cremation 


Suburba7i 

cemeteHes 

rapidly 

become 

urban 


long  and  elaborate  report  of  the  conditions 
of  these  excavations  beneath  the  churches  of 
the  metropolis,  presents  a  marVellous  view  of 
the  phenomena,  which,  ordinarily  hidden  in  the 
grave,  could  be  examined  here,  illustrating  the 
many  stages  of  decay— a  condition  which  he 
describes  as  a  "disgrace  to  any  civilization." 
But  it  may  be  said  all  this  is  changed  now  ; 
intra-mural  interment  no  longer  exists  :  why 
produce  these  shocking  records  of  the  past  ? 

Precisely  because  they  enable  us  to  know 
what  it  is  which  we  have  only  banished  to  our 
suburban  cemeteries  ;  that  we  may  be  reminded 
that  the  process  has  not  changed  ;  that  all  this 
horrible  decomposition  removed  from  our  doors 
— although  this  will  not  long  be  the  case,  either 
at  Kensal  Green  or  Norwood,*  to  say  nothing 
of  some  other  cemeteries — goes  on  as  ever,  and 
will  one  day  be  found  in  dangerous  vicinity  to 
our  homes.    And  here  I  must  make  an  expla- 
nation which  I  think  can  Be  necessary  to  very 
few  who  read  my  former  article,  although  Mr. 
Holland   misunderstands   me,  and  bases  the 
greater  part  of  his  paper  upon  the  utter  mis- 
representation of  my  meaning  he  is  pleased  to 
make.     Because  I  said  that  in  burying  the 
corpses  of  to-day  in  distant  graves  we  were 

*  And  now  sufficiently  manifest  at  the  last-named  place. 
1899. 


Cremation  miLst  be  Adopted  for  109 

"  laying  by  poison  for  our  children's  children," 
he  takes  special  pains  to  inform  me  that  pro- 
bably these  particular  corpses  must  at  that 
future  time  be  as  innocuous  as  if  they  had  been 
burned.  No  doubt  they  will  be  so  ;  but  as 
years  pass  on,  the  close  neighbourhood  and 
ultimate  contact  of  the  putrefying  dead  with 
a  rapidly  increasing  population  of  living  de- 
scendants must  arrive. 

It  is  only  a  question  of  time.  And  it  was 
expressly  to  guard  against  the  misapprehen- 
sion complained  of,  that  I  added  the  following 
passage,  which  it  is  only  charitable  to  suppose 
he  must  have  overlooked  (although  it  forms  the 
immediate  sequel  to  that  which  he  quoted) : — 

"  It  may  be  granted,  to  anticipate  objection, 
that  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  bodies  now 
buried  may  have  lost  most,  if  not  all,  their 
power  of  doing  mischief  by  the  time  that  the 
particular  soil  they  inhabit  is  turned  up  again 
to  the  sun's  rays,  although  this  is  by  no  means 
certain  ;  but  it  is  beyond  dispute  that  the 
margin  of  safety  as  to  time  grows  narrower  and 
narrower  year  by  year,  and  that  pollution  of 
wells  and  streams  which  supply  the  living  must 
ere  long  arise  wherever  we  bury  our  dead  in 
this  country." 

At  this  point  let  me  call  another  witness  on 
this  important  subject.    Perhaps  it  would  be 


no  Modern  Cremation 


Further 
and  more 
recent 
evidence. 


Dr.  Parkes 
quoted. 


The  danger 
both  in  tozun 
and  country 
which 
follows 
burial. 


difficult  to  name  a  higher  authority  in  this 
country  on  any  question  of  public  health, 
than  that  of  Dr.  Edmund  Parkes,  Professor  of 
Military  Hygiene  of  the  Army  Medical  School 
at  Netley.  In  a  short,  but  suggestive,  chapter 
"  on  the  disposal  of  the  dead,"  *  he  proposes  the 
following  question  : — 

"  What,  then,  is  the  best  plan  of  disposing 
of  the  dead  so  that  the  living  may  not  suffer  ? 
At  present  the  question  is  not  an  urgent  one  ; 
but  if  peace  continue,  and  if  the  population  of 
Europe  increase,  it  will  become  so  in  another 
century  or  two.  Already  in  this  country  we 
have  seen,  in  our  own  time,  a  great  change  ; 
the  objectionable  practice  of  interment  under 
and  around  churches  in  towns  has  been  given 
up,  and  the  population  are  buried  at  a  distance 
from  their  habitations.  For  the  present,  that 
measure  will  probably  suffice,  but  in  a  few  years 
the  question  will  again  inevitably  present  itself 

"  Burying  in  the  ground  appears  certainly  the 
most  insanitary  plan  of  the  three  methods.! 
The  air  over  cemeteries  is  constantly  contami- 
nated, and  water  (see  p.  66)  (which  may  be  used 
for  drinking)  is  often  highly  impure.  Hence 
in  the  vicinity  of  graveyards  two  dangers  to  the 


*  A  Manual  of  Practical  Hygiene.    London  :  Churchill. 

1864.  ,  „      .  ,0 

t  Burial  in  the  Land,  or  al  Sea,  and  Burmng,  p.  45^^- 


Populous  Districts  &  Low- Lying  Soils  1 1 1 

population  arise,  and  in  addition,  from  time  to 
time,  the  disturbance  of  an  old  graveyard  has 
given  rise  to  disease.  It  is  a  matter  of  notoriety 
that  the  vicinity  of  graveyards  is  unhealthy." 

To  return  to  our  reporters  :  we  have  seen  the 
condition  of  graveyards  in  towns,  but  it  will 
not  be  undesirable  to  glance  at  the  evidence 
relating  to  the  condition  of  provincial  church- 
yards, where,  in  the  midst  of  a  sparse  popu- 
lation, the  pure  country  air  circulates  with 
natural  freedom — numbers  of  such  spots  are 
mentioned — let  one  single  example  be  "  Cadox- 
ton  Churchyard,  near  Neath."  Respecting  this 
the  reporter  writes  :  "  I  do  not  know  how  other- 
wise to  describe  the  state  of  this  churchyard 
than  by  saying  that  it  is  truly  and  thoroughly 
abominable.  The  smell  from  it  is  revolting. 
I  could  distinctly  perceive  it  in  every  one  of  the 
neighbouring  houses  which  I  visited,  and  in 
every  one  of  these  houses  there  have  been  cases 
of  cholera  or  severe  diarrhoea."  This  is  not  a 
selected  specimen,  some  are  even  worse ;  for 
further  examples  see  below.* 

I  next  complain  that  there  is  insufficient  Further 
recognition  in  Mr.  Holland's  paper,  of  the  f^'^^f' 
unhealthy  character  of  the  emanations  which 


*  Op.  ciL,  p.  48.  Report  of  Mr.  Bowie,  describing  grave- 
yards at  Merthyr  Tydvil ;  Hawick,  Roxburghshire  ;  Greenock, 
and  other  places. 


112  Modern  Cremation 


result  from  the  process  of  putrefaction  when 
affecting  the  human  body.  He  lays  great  stress 
on  the  fact  that  at  the  end  of  those  long  stages 
of  decay  which  burial  renders  necessary,  the 
result  is  as  harmless  as  at  the  end  of  the  process 
of  cremation,  passing  over  as  not  worth  notice 
the  fact  that  for  long  years  the  corpse  is  replete 
with  influences  which  are  mischievous  to  any- 
thing which  may  come  within  their  range ; 
absolute  isolation  being  the  only  condition  of 
safety.  Conversely  stated,  this  is  precisely  my 
own  argument,  and  demonstrates  triumphantly 
the  superiority  of  cremation.  I  affirm  that,  by 
burning,  we  arrive  in  one  hour,  without  offence 
or  danger,  at  the  very  stage  of  harmless  result 
which  burying  requires  years  to  produce.  True 
indeed  it  is,  "  that  the  ultimate  result  is  the 
same,"  but  an  infinity  of  mischief  may  happen 
by  his  process,  and  none  can  happen  by  mine. 
And,  after  all,  he  can  only  on  his  own  showing 
claim  a  perfect  result  by  burial  "  if  no  more 
dead  be  buried  than  the  free  oxygen  contained 
in  rain  and  dew  carried  through  it,  will  decom- 
pose ;  and  if  such  soil  be  left  undisturbed,  etc., 
and  if  the  use  of  such  ground  for  burial  be 
discontinued,"  etc.,  etc. 

I  now  arrive  at  the  second  part  of  my  subject, 
in  which  I  have  to  show  that  the  plan  of 
cremation  I  have  myself  adopted,  and  will  now 


Authors  Early  Trials  of  Cremati07i  113 

advise,  is  wholly  free  from  objections  of  the 
kind  Mr.  Holland  has  imagined  to  exist ;  that 
it  is  complete  in  its  results,  and  is  absolutely- 
causeless  of  danger  or  of  offence  to  any. 

Many  persons  have  expressed  to  me  the  The  best 

.    .  ^  -r  ^        •  r-  1  mode  of 

opmion  that  I  ought  m  my  first  paper  to  have  performing 
described  what  I  believed  to  be  the  best  mode  (^f  j'^^^^)" 
of  performing  cremation.  I  felt,  however, 
although  I  was  prepared  to  give  the  informa- 
tion in  question,  that  it  was  impossible  to  judge 
beforehand  what  might  be  the  reception  by  the 
public  of  my  project,  and  that  I  might  perhaps 
go  too  far  and  weight  it  too  heavily  if  I  actually 
sketched  the  process  by  which  each  reader  could 
realise  for  himself  its  nature  and  mode  of  opera- 
tion. I  think  the  reticence  was  prudent,  although 
it  might  possibly  have  been  unnecessary. 

I  think  it  is  fair  to  myself  to  say  that,  before 
that  first  article  was  published,  a  scheme  for 
burning  two  thousand  bodies  a  week  for  London 
(the  average  present  requirement  being  about 
sixteen  hundred)  was  quite  completed,  and  that 
I  had  satisfied  myself  that  to  accomplish  this 
would  not  be  a  difficult  task,  and  that  it  would 
occasion  no  nuisance  whatever. 

Without  entering  on  those  details,  I  will 
give  an  example  of  what  I  have  done  in  the 
matter  of  resolving  the  body  into  its  ultimate 
elements  by  heat. 

I 


114 


Modern  Cremation 


And  first  of  all  I  must  request  the  reader  to 
dismiss  from  his  mind  all  the  allegations  against 
the  practice  of  cremation  which  Mr.  Holland 
has  made,  grounded  on  what  he  imagines  that 
process  to  be.  He  states  that  it  "  would  neces- 
sarily require  the  active  superintendence  of  a 
class  of  men  whose  services  for  such  an  office 
it  would  be  scarcely  possible  always  to  obtain  : 
while  it  is  evident  that  imperfectly  conducted 
burning  of  the  dead  would  be  inexpressibly 
shocking,  and  apt  not  rarely  to  occur."  The 
point  first  named  is  a  matter  barely  worth 
contesting;  but  the  last  five  words  are  absolutely 
without  foundation,  and  I  challenge  him  to 
show  a  tittle  of  evidence  to  support  the  very 
grave  allegation  they  contain. 
The  restilt  A  powerful  reverberating  furnace  will  reduce 

t/7hr'""'  a  body  of  more  than  average  size  and  weight, 
Tp'oZr/ui  leaving  only  a  few  white  and  fragile  portions  of 
furnace.  earthy  material,  in  less  than  one  hour.  I  have 
myself  personally  superintended  the  burning 
of  two  entire  bodies,  one  small  and  emaciated 
of  47  lbs.  weight,  and  one  of  140  lbs.  weight, 
not  emaciated,  and  possess  the  products— in  the 
former  case,  weighing  if  lbs.  ;  in  the  latter, 
weighing  about  4  lbs.  The  former  was  com- 
pleted in  twenty-five  minutes,  the  latter  in  fifty. 
No  trace  of  odour  was  perceived — indeed,  such 
a  thing  is  impossible— and  not  the  slightest 


Folloived  by  Excellent  ReszUts  115 


difficulty  presented  itself.    The  remains  already  Eariy  ex- 

,     -  perivtents  in 

described  were  not  withdrawn  till  the  process  rever- 
was  complete,  and  nothing  can  be  more  pure,  j-","/^"f 
tested  by  sight  or  smell,  than  they  are,  and 
nothing  less  suggestive  of  decay  or  decompo- 
sition. It  is  a  refined  sublimate,  and  not  a 
portion  of  refuse,  which  I  have  before  me.  The 
experiments  took  place  in  the  presence  of 
several  persons.  Among  the  witnesses  of  the 
second  experiment  was  Dr.  George  Buchanan, 
the  well-known  medical  officer  of  the  Local 
Government  Board,  who  can  testify  to  the  com- 
pleteness of  the  process.* 

I  challenge  my  opponent  to  produce  so 
fair  a  result  from  all  the  costly  and  carefully 

*  These  experiments  were  made  by  me,  in  January,  1874, 
after  permission  kindly  granted  by  Messrs.  Maudslay  Sons  and 
Field,  at  their  works  in  Westminster  Bridge  Road.  At  that 
period  in  the  history  of  cremation,  I  did  not  think  it  right  to 
name  this  act  of  generous  liberality  and  confidence,  so  strong 
was  the  prejudice  against  it  in  many  minds,  but  happily  there  is 
now  no  need  to  withhold  my  public  acknowledgments  of  the 
favour  accorded  me  in  providing  the  necessary  means  for  ac- 
quiring the  experience  I  wanted. 

The  subsequent  experiment  I  went,  to  Birmingham  to  per- 
form, at  the  suggestion  of  my  late  friend  Sir  Wm.  Siemens,  who 
had  there  one  of  his  admirable  furnaces.  The  animal  cremated 
was  a  fat  hog,  being  one  of  the  most  severe  tests  I  could  apply 
in  reference  to  production  of  offensive  odours  and  fumes ;  not 
a  trace  of  either  was  present.  The  method,  which  requires  a 
large  supply  of  gas  and  a  costly  apparatus,  is  still  superior  to 
any  other  I  am  acquainted  with. 

These  were  the  first  cremations  made  in  this  country,  with  a 
view  to  determine  the  applicability  of  furnaces  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  human  cremation, 

I  2 


ii6 


Modern  C7^emation 


No  noxious 
g-ctses  escape. 


managed  cemeteries  in  the  kingdom,  and  I  offer 
him  twenty  years  during  which  to  conduct  the 
process  for  a  single  experiment. 

In  the  proceedings  above  described,  the 
gases  which  leave  the  furnace  chimney  during 
the  first  three  or  four  minutes  of  combustion 
are  noxious  ;  after  that  time  they  cease  to  be 
so,  and  no  smoke  would  be  seen.  But  these 
noxious  gases  are  not  to  be  permitted  to  escape 
by  any  chimney,  and  will  pass  through  a  flue 
into  a  second  furnace,  where  they  are  entirely 
consumed  ;  and  the  chimney  of  the  latter  is 
smokeless — no  organic  products  whatever  can 
issue  by  it.  A  complete  combustion  is  thus 
attained.  Not  even  a  tall  chimney  is  neces- 
sary, which  might  be  pointed  at  as  that  which 
marked  the  site  where  cremation  is  performed. 
A  small  jet  of  steam  quickening  the  draught 
of  a  low  chimney  is  all  that  is  requisite. 

As  a  rough  and  unfinished  sketch  of  a 
system  "to  be  followed  when  cremation  is  gener- 
ally adopted,  I  would  suggest  the  following  :— 
When    death    occurs   and   the  necessary 
certificate  has  been  given  (relative  to  which  an 
fo,vnanceaf  jj^portant  suggcstion  will  be  made  hereafter), 

cremation,  jr'  oo 

the  body  is  placed  in  a  light  wood  shell,  then  m 
a  suitable  outside  receptacle  preparatory  to 
removal  for  religious  rites  or  otherwise.  After 
a  proper  time  has  elapsed,  it  is  conveyed  to 


Practical 
suggestions 
for  the  per- 


Economical  Results  of  Cremation  1 1 7 

the  spot  where  cremation  is  to  be  performed. 
There,  nothing  need  be  seen  by  any  friends 
or  others  attending  than  the  placing  of  a  shell 
within  a  small  compartment,  and  the  closing 
of  the  door  upon  it.  It  slides  down  into  the 
heated  chamber,  and  is  left  there  an  hour  till 
the  necessary  changes  have  taken  place.  The 
ashes  are  then  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the 
attendants.* 

I  now  come  to  a  very  serious  matter,  treated 
of  by  Mr.  Holland  in  a  manner  of  which  I 
am  compelled  to  complain.  He  is  pleased  to 
make  merry  himself,  and  to  suggest  that  I  am 
joking — or,  to  use  his  own  phraseology,  "  poking 
fun  " — when  calling  attention  to  my  remarks 
relative  to  the  "  economical "  view  of  cremation. 

In  speaking  of  this,  I  stated  that  "  it  is  an  Creination 

,       .  ,,    must  have 

economic  subject,  whether  we  zvill  it  or  not.    an  economic 
Now,  I  wish  him  and  all  my  readers  to  under-  t^l'^l^er 
stand  that  I  was  never  more  serious,  never  more 

'  not. 

earnest,  in  my  life  than  I  was  then  and  am  at 
this  moment,  in  consideration  of  this  ques- 
tion of  "  economy."  Anything  like  "  fun  "  or 
a  "  joke,"  wherever  else  it  may  be  tolerated, 
is  wholly  out  of  place  here.  Seeing  the  Great 
Power  which  has  ordained  the  marvellous  and 
ceaseless  action  which  transmutes  every  animal 

*  See  the  instructions  now  adopted  by  the  Cremation 
Society  given  in  complete  detail  at  the  end  of  this  volume. 


ii8 


Modern  Cremation 


Furthej 
ronsidera- 
Hon  of 
"  senti- 
ment" ill 
relation  to 
cremation. 


bod)r  as  quickly  as  possible  into  vegetable 
matter  and  vice  versd,  and  has  arranged  that 
this  harmonious  cycle  should  be  the  absolute 
and  necessary  law  for  all  existence,  I  have 
space  for  no  other  sentiments  than  those  of 
submission,  wonder,  and  admiration.  If  any 
say  that  it  is  in  bad  taste,  or  does  violence 
to  some  right  feeling,  to  speak  of  the  fate  that 
inevitably  awaits  every  one  of  us,  in  that,  on 
some  future  day,  the  elements  of  our  bodies 
must  enter  into  that  other  life  of  the  vegetable 
world,  whence  once  they  came,  let  the  com- 
plaint thereof  be  carried  to  the  Highest  Court 
of  the  Universe,  and  let  the  question  be  asked 
there.  Whether  "  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  doth 
right "  ? 

Meantime  it  suffices  us  to  know  that  the  very 
existence  of  these  cavillers  is  solely  due  to  that 
Divine  fecundity  which  pervades  all  nature,  and 
is  regulated  by  economical  principles,  the  benefi- 
cent operation  of  which  we  may  feebly  postpone, 
doing  some  notable  harm  thereby,  but  happily 
can  never  resist  in  the  end. 

My  charge  against  Mr.  Holland,  however,  is 
not  this,  but  something  much  more  serious. 
Alluding  to  the  small  modicum  of  remains  in 
the  form  of  ashes  after  cremation,  and  which 
I  was  content  should  be  preserved  in  an 
urn,  stating  only  that   the  fields  were  their 


Plant  Grozvths  thrive  in  a  Cemetery  119 

"  righteous"  destination— as  they  are— he  speaks 
of  the  latter  suggestion  as  a  "  desecration  "  and 
as  "  outraging  family  affection  ;  "  and  actually 
associates  it  in  some  fashion  with  savagery 
and  cannibalism.  Yet— can  we  believe  it  ?— he, 
so  tender  of  sentiment  on  this  subject  of  deceased 
remains,  himself  actually  advocates  and  practises 
the  utilizing  of  by  far  the  greater  part  of  those 
remains  for  the  production  of  grass  and  other 
vegetables  for  the  express  purpose  of  keeping 
his  cemeteries  sweet  and  wholesome!  The 
gaseous  elements  of  these  buried  bodies,  which, 
as  I  particularly  insisted  upon  when  dealing 
with  that  question  of  economy,  are  by  far  the 
greater  part,  being  incalculable  in  amount  in 
relation  to  the  ashes,  which  are  by  comparison 
a  mere  trifle,  and  which  alone  he  is  pleased  to 
mention — that  greater  part,  I  say,  he  not  only  The 

...  argument 

uses  himself,  but  he  knows  that  this  very  utili 

~  continued. 

zation  of  it  is  the  only  way  he  has  of  preserving 
a  cemetery  in  a  tolerable  condition.  He  knows 
perfectly  well  that  the  presence  of  abundant 
plant-growth  is  essential  in  the  cemetery  to 
assimilate  the  noxious  gases  arising  from  the 
buried  bodies  before  alluded  to,  and  that  those 
plants  owe  their  life  and  structure  to  the  very 
elements  of  our  "  friends  and  relatives,"  about 
whom  he  professes  to  be  so  utterly  shocked 
that  I  should  conceive  it  possible  to  utilize  them 


Modern  Cremation 


for  any  economical  purpose!  I  charge  my 
opponent  then,  his  professions  notwithstanding, 
as  in  part  the  manager  of  the  cemeteries  of  this 
country  during  twenty  years,  with  having  pre- 
sided over  perhaps  the  largest  institution  that 
ever  existed  for  transmuting  the  human  body 
into,  vegetable  growth  of  various  kinds.  My 
one  objection  to  his  system  is  that  it  does  it 
so  slowly,  so  offensively,  and  so  dangerously. 

Now,  lest  perchance  some  one  not  himself 
acquainted  with  the  facts  alluded  to  may 
desire,  for  such  a  statement,  other  authority 
than  my  own,  let  us  listen  once  more,  and  for 
the  last  time,  to  Dr.  Parkes.  In  order  to 
oxidize  the  foetid  organic  exhalations  of  the 
burying -ground,  he  says:  "The  only  means 
which  present  themselves,  as  applicable  in  all 
cases,  are  the  deep  burial  and  the  use  of  plants 
closely  placed  in  the  cemetery.  There  is  no  plan 
which  is  more  efficacious  for  the  absorption  of  the 
organic  substances,  and  perhaps  of  the  carbonic 
acid,  than  plants  ;  but  it  would  seem  a  mistake 
to  use  only  the  dark,  slow-growing  evergreens  ; 
the  object  should  be  to  get  the  most  rapidly 
growing  trees  and  shrubs,"  etc.* 
The^senti-  But  cvcn  this  is  not  my  opponent's  crowning 
Teglrdof     inconsistency.    So   determined   is  he  not  to 

hurying  hi 

the  sea.  *  p.  458,    Dr.  Sutherland  also  strongly  insists  on  the  same 

practice. 


On  Noxious  Gases  from  the  Buried  121 

accept  cremation,  that  he   suggests  another 
mode,  "  that  of  sinking  the  dead  in  the  depths 
of  the  ocean,"  as  having  « far  more  to  recom- 
mend it."    No  doubt  there  is  much  to  be  said 
in  its  favour;  much  more  certainly  than  for 
burial.    Yet  shocked  as  he  is  at  the  notion  that 
his  father's  ashes  should  ever  fertilize  the  field, 
he  would  consign  the  body  to  a  place  whence, 
almost  instantly,  it  would  be  devoured  by  fish 
and  crustaceans,  whose  numbers  would  be  mul- 
tiplied  correspondingly  by  their  benefactor's 
enormous  contribution  of  food,  as  the  public 
markets  soon  would  testify  !    No  animal  multi- 
plies more  rapidly  than  fish,  and  the  "  economic  " 
question  would  be  determined  in  a  manner 
more  complete,  and  more  direct,  and  with  a  more 
remunerative  result  than  any  which  I  had  ever 
dared,  or  still  should  dare,  to  suggest ! 

This  remarkable  proposal  appears  actually  on 
the  same  page  as  that  in  which  he  affects  to  be 
outraged  by  my  suggestion  that  burning  the 
body  would  necessarily  contribute  to  the  "  food 
production  "  of  the  earth. 

And  here  I  shall  take  leave  of  Mr.  Holland,  T/,e 
with  the  view  of  affording  explanations  which  ^l"troyiX 
have  been  asked  relative  to  the  following  very  'pofsTnhifby 
important  subject.    It  has  been  said,  and  most  <^'-'">"^*''"'' 
naturally,  what  guarantee  is  there  against  poison- 
ing if  the  remains  are  burned,  and  it  is  no  longer 


122  Modern  Cremation 

possible,  as  after  burial,  to  reproduce  the  body 
for  the  purpose  of  examination  ?    It  is  to  my 
mind  a  sufficient  reply  that,  regarding  only  "  the 
greatest  good  for  the  greatest  number,"  the 
amount  of  evil  in  the  shape  of  disease  and 
death,  which  results  from  the  present  system  of 
burial  in  earth,  is  infinitely  larger  than  the  evil 
caused  by  secret  poisoning  is  or  could  be,  even 
if  the  practice  of  the  crime  were  very  consider- 
ably to  increase.    Further,  the  appointment  of 
officers  to  examine  and  certify  in  all  cases  of 
death  would  be  an  additional  and  very  efficient 
safeguard.    But— and  here  I  touch  on  a  very 
important  subject — is  there  reason  to  believe 
that  our  present  precautions  in  the  matter  of 
Death-certificate  against  the  danger  of  poisoning 
are  what  they  ought  to  be  ?    I  think  that  it 
must  be  confessed  that  they  are  defective,  for 
not  only  is  our  system  inadequate  to  the  end 
proposed,  but  it  is  less  efficient  by  comparison 
than    that  adopted   by  foreign  governments. 
Our  existing  arrangements  for  ascertaining  and 
registering  the  cause  of  death  are  very  lax,  and 
A  qualified  give  Hse,  as  we  shall  see,  to  serious  errors.  In 

uispector  of  i        ,        .  ,    •  i  .       ,     .        .  . 

deaths        order  to  attam  an  approach  to  certitude  m  this 
fxamine      importaut  matter,  I  contend  that  it  would  be 
every  case;    jjiQst  dcsirablc  to  nominate  in  every  district 
a  properly  qualified  inspector  to  certify  in  all 
cases  to  the  fact  that  death  has  taken  place,  to 


Medical  Inspection  Necessary  123 

satisfy  himself  as  far  as  possible  that  no  foul 
play  has  existed,  and  to  give  the  certificate 
accordingly.    This  would  relieve  the  medical 
attendant  of  the  deceased  from  any  disagreeable 
duty,  relative  to  inquiry  concerning  suspicious 
circumstances,  if  any  have  been  observed.    Such  - /« ^^^^^ 
officers  exist   throughout  the   large  cities  of  eUe-wherc. 
France  and  Germany,  and  the  system  is  more  or 
less  pursued  throughout  the  provinces.  In  Paris, 
no  burial  can  take  place  without  the  written 
permission  of  the  "  Medecin-Verificateur  ;  "  and 
whether  we  adopt  cremation  or  not,  such  an 
officer  might,  with   advantage,  be  appointed 
here.* 

For  perhaps  it  is  not  generally  known,  even,  Many 

1       •      J  boihes 

as  it  would  seem,  by  those  who  have  emphasized  hurkd 

.  ,       ,  ...        .  .  •         ,  luithout  any 

SO  notably  the  objection  m  question  to  crema-  ^.^uficatc. 
tion,  that  many  bodies  are  buried  in  this  country 
without  any  medical  certificate  at  all ;  and  that 
among  these  any  number  of  deaths  by  poison 
may  have  taken  place  for  anything  that  any- 

*  The  practice  referred  to  is  thus  regulated  : — 
The  following  is  the  text  of  the  French  law,  Code  Napoleon, 
Article  77  :  "  Aucune  inhumation  ne  sera  faite  sans  une 
autorisation,  sur  papier  libre  et  sans  frais,  de  rofiicier  de 
I'etat  civil,  qui  ne  pourra  la  delivrer  qu'apres  s'etre  transporte 
aupr^s  de  la  personne  decedee  pour  s'assurer  du  deces,  et  que  24 
heures  apres  le  deces,  hors  les  cas  prevus  par  les  reglements  de 
police."    For  details  see  Appendix  C. 

In  Vienna,  a  similar  document  is  always  prepared,  but  with 
greater  care.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Munich,  Frankfort, 
Geneva,  and  other  Continental  cities. 


Modern  Cremation 

body  knows.  Is  it  in  the  provinces  chiefly  that 
this  lax  practice  exists  ?  No  doubt,  and  more 
particularly  in  the  principality  of  Wales  But 
It  occurs  also  in  the  heart  of  London.  A  good 
many  certificates  of  death  are  signed  every  year 
in  London  by  some  non-medical  persons.  Not 
long  ago,  in  one  metropolitan  parish  which  I 
can  name,  but  do  not,  above  forty  deaths  were 
registered  in  a  year  on  the  mere  statement  of 
neighbours  of  the  deceased.  No  medical  cer- 
tificate was  procurable,  and  no  inquest  was  held  ; 
the  bodies  were  buried  without  inquiry.  This 
practice  is  not  illegal ;  and,  in  my  opinion,  it 
goes  far  to  make  a  case  for  the  appointment  of 
a  "  Medecin-V^rificateur."  During  the  exist- 
ence of  pestilence  especially,  such  a  safeguard 
is  necessary.  Before  I  quit  this  subject,  let  me 
make  a  brief  extract  from  evidence  given  by 
"^^nZ"'  b^fo^e  the  Royal  Sanitary  Commis- 

sion in  1869,  from  which  it  appears  that  medical 
certification  of  death  is  not  the  rule,  but  the 
exception,  in  some  districts  of  Wales.  He 
says — 

"^^Zcates  "  ^^t"^"s  °f  ^eath  made  to  the  Registrar- 
imj,erfcct  General  are  necessarily  imperfect.  .  .  .  We  had 
to  make  inquiry  on  one  occasion  as  to  the  sup- 
posed very  large  prevalence  of  phthisis  in  some 
of  the  South  Wales  counties.  ...  It  turned  out 
that  this  great  appearance  of  phthisis  in  the 


To  Certify  in  every  Case  of  Death  125 

death-registers  depended  upon  the  fact  that  the 
causes  of  death  were  only  exceptionally  certified 
by  medical  men.  I  remember  that  in  one  case 
only  1 5  per  cent,  of  the  deaths  had  been  medi- 
cally certified.  The  non-medical  certifiers  of 
death  thought  that  'consumption'  was  a  good 
word  to  cover  death  generally,  so  that  any  one 
who  died  somewhat  slowly  was  put  down  as 
dying  of  'consumption,'  and  this  appeared  in 
the  Registrar-General's  returns  as  phthisis." 

Dr.  Sutherland  long  ago  called  attention  to  Dr.  Suther- 
this  matter.    I  quote  his  remarks  from  the  work  ^evidence 
above  named.    Referring  to  Paris,  Munich,  and 
other  cities,  he  says — 

"  Where  there  are  regularly  appointed  verifi-' 
cators,  .  .  .  who  are  generally  medical  men  in 
practice,  .  .  .  the  districts  of  the  city  are  divided 
between  them.  .  .  .  The  instructions  under  which 
these  officers  act  are  of  a  very  stringent  cha- 
racter, and  the  procedure  is  intended  to  obviate 
premature  interment,  and  to  detect  crime.  The 
PVench  and  the  German  method  of  verification 
is  intended  to  be  preventive.  A  number  of  in- 
stances were  mentioned  to  me  in  which  crimes 
which  would  otherwise  have  escaped  notice  were 
detected  by  the  keen  and  practised  eye  of  the 
verificator,  and  the  general  opinion  certainly 
was  that  much  crime  was  prevented.* 

*  Op,  cit. 


126  Modern  Cremation 


Suggestion 
as  to 

preserving 
parts  of 
body 


in  doubtful 
cases. 


This  is  but  an  episode  in  treating  of  crema- 
tion ;  a  very  important  one  nevertheless.  I 
have,  therefore,  thought  it  right  to  take  this 
opportunity  of  advocating  a  more  stringent  pro- 
vision than  now  exists  for  an  official  inspection 
and  certificate  in  all  cases  of  death. 

Lastly,  it  would  be  possible,  at  much  less  cost 
than  is  at  present  incurred  for  burial,  to  pre- 
serve, in  every  case  of  death,  the  stomach,  and 
a  portion  of  one  of  the  viscera,  say  for  fifteen 
or  twenty  years  or  thereabouts,  so  that  in  the 
event  of  any  suspicion  subsequently  occurring, 
greater  facility  for  examination  would  exist 
than  by  the  present  method  of  exhumation. 
Nothing  could  be  more  certain  to  check  the 
designs  of  the  poisoner  than  the  knowledge  that 
the  proofs  of  his  crime,  instead  of  being  buried 
in  the  earth  (from  which,  as  a  fact,  not  one  in 
a  hundred  thousand  bodies  is  disinterred  for  ex- 
amination) are  safely  preserved  in  a  public  office, 
and  that  they  can  be  produced  against  him  at 
any  moment.  The  universal  application  of  this 
plan,  although  easily  practicable,  is,  however, 
obviously  unnecessary.  It  is  quite  certain  that 
no  pretext  for  such  conservation  can  exist  in 
more  than  one  instance  in  every  five  hundred 
deaths.  In  the  remainder,  the  fatal  result  would 
be  attributed  without  mistake  to  some  natural 
cause — as  decay,  fever,  consumption,  or  other 


If  the  Cause  was  Natural  or  not  127 

malady,  the  signs  of  which  are  clear  even  to  a 
tyro  in  the  medical  art.  But  in  any  case  in 
which  the  slightest  doubt  arises  in  the  mind  of 
the  medical  attendant,  or  in  which  the  precau- 
tion is  desired  or  suggested  by  a  relative,  or 
whenever  the  subject  himself  may  have  desired 
it,  nothing  would  be  easier  than  to  make  the 
requisite  conservation.  As  before  stated,  the 
existence  of  an  official  verificator  would  relieve 
the  ordinary  medical  attendant  of  the  case  from 
active  interference  in  the  matter.  If,  then,  the 
public  is  earnest  in  its  endeavour  to  render 
exceedingly  difficult  or  impossible  the  crime  of 
secret  poisoning— and  it  ought  to  be  so  if  the 
objection  to  cremation  on  this  ground  is  a  valid 
one — the  sooner  some  measures  are  taken  to  this 
end  the  better,  whether  burial  in  earth  or  crema- 
tion be  the  future  method  of  treating  our  dead. 
To  sum  up  : — 

For  the  purposes  of  cremation  nothing  is  General 

summary 

required  but  an  apparatus  of  a  suitable  kind,  o/the 

,      .  advantages 

the  construction  of  which  is  well  understood  ofcrema- 
and  easy  to  accomplish.  With  such  apparatus 
the  process  is  rapid  and  inoffensive,  and  the 
result  is  perfect.  The  space  necessary  for  the 
purpose  is  small,  and  but  little  skilled  labour  is 
wanted. 

Not  only  is  its  employment  compatible  with 
religious  rites,  but  it  enables  them  to  be  con- 


126  Modern  Cremation 

Advatitages  ducted  with  greater  ease  and  with  far  greater 

of crema-  r  i. 

Hon.         satety  to  the  attendants  than  at  a  cemetery. 

For  example,  burial  takes  place  in  the  open  air, 
and  necessitates  exposure  to  all  weathers,  while 
cremation  is  necessarily  conducted  within  a 
building,  which  may  be  constructed  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  mourners  and  attendants  in 
relation  to  comfort  and  taste. 

Cremation  destroys  instantly  all  infectious 
quality  in  the  body  submitted  to  the  process, 
and  effectually  prevents  the  possibility  of  other 
injury  to  the  living  from  the  remains  at  any 
future  time.  All  care  to  prevent  such  evil  is 
obviously  unnecessary,  and  ceases  from  the 
moment  the  process  commences.  The  aim  of 
cremation  is  to  prevent  the  process  of  putre- 
faction. 

On  the  other  hand,  burial  cannot  be  con- 
ducted without  serious  risks  to  the  living,  and 
great  care  is  required  to  render  them  incon- 
siderable with  our  present  population.  Costly 
cemeteries  also  are  necessary,  with  ample  space 
for  all  possible  demands  upon  it,  and  complete 
isolation  from  the  vicinity  of  the  living,  to  en- 
sure, as  far  as  possible,  the  absence  of  danger  to 
them. 

It  is  a  process  designed  essentially  to  pro- 
long decay  and  putrefaction  with  all  its 
attendant  mischief;  and  the  best  that  can  be 


BiLvial  always  involves  Risk  129 

affirmed  of  it  is,  that  in  the  course  of  many 
years  it  arrives,  by  a  process  which  is  anta- 
gonistic to  the  health  of  survivors,  at  results 
similar  to,  but  less  complete,  than  cremation 
produces  in  an  hour  without  injury  to  any. 


K 


30  Modern  Cremation 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Uiiquesiion- 
able 

superiority 
of  crema- 
tion to  any 
other 
method  of 
dealing 
with  the 
dead  body ; 


THE  ARGUMENT  FOR  CREMATION  BASED  ON 
A  LARGER  EXPERIENCE  GAINED  DURING 
LATER  YEARS. 

Recent  scientific  study  proves  high  temperature  to  be  the  Best 
agen  t  for  destroying  the  germs  of  disease— The  one  objection 
to  Cremation  is  that  traces  of  poison  and  violence  are  thus 
destroyed  also— No  form  of  burial  is  fatal  to  diseased  germs, 
while  it  soon  destroys  traces  of  subtle  poison — Knowledge  of 
cause  of  death  necessary  in  all  cases  before  body  is  disposed 
of— Exhumation  an  inefficient  substitute— Special  evidence 
to  prove  this  statement— Causes  of  death  considered— Sus- 
picious circumstances  noted— Subjects  for  medical  inquiry 
— Directions   thereto- Criminal   poisoning   would  rarely 
escape  detection  if  the  Society's  system  were  employed — 
Recent  objection,  that  cremation  renders  the  air  injurious  to 
life,  fully  answered — Advantages  resulting  from  Cremation  : 
I.  Preserves  land  for  food  production.    2.  Reduces  costs  of 
funeral  rites.    3.  Restores  ashes  of  the  dead  to  every  church, 
cloister,  or  vault — Chief  legal  provisions  necessary  for  future 
registration  of  death  and  disposal  of  the  dead. 

Arriving  at  this  part  of  my  subject,  I  shall 
complete  the  argument  in  favour  of  cremation, 
and  claim  that,  as  a  mode  of  safely  decompos- 
ing the  body  after  death,  it  is  the  most  rapid 
and  efficient  agent  at  present  known. 

Researches  and  experiments  on  a  very  ex- 
tended scale  during  the  last  five-and-twenty 


All  Diseased  Germs  Destroyed  by  Fire  1 3 1 

years  have  amply  demonstrated  much  that 
before  that  date  was  but  shrewdly  believed  to 
be  true,  viz.  that  decomposing  organic  matter 
becomes  a  highly  prolific  nidus  for  developing 
the  serms  of  fatal  disease.  Moreover,  there  is 
but  one  alternative  process  for  choice  if  crema- 
tion be  rejected,  viz.  that  of  slow  putrefaction 
after  burial. 

This  being  so,  sentiment  is  enlisted  wholly 

iiicom- 

on  the  side  of  cremation  ;   and  shrinks  with  ^.ZfmJg'' 
inexpressible    repugnance    from    any   vision,  f^^tteo/ 
however  transient,  of  the  "  corruption  "  of  the  burial; 
grave. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  action  of  fire  in  the  cnstcrins: 

,  -       .  rapid 

space  of  an  hour  or  two  destroys  those  latal  decomposi- 

.      ff.        .        .  ...  1      .  .        ,     Hon  wiik 

germs,  and  offensive  impurities,  rendering  inert  safety  from 
all  that  is  infectious  ;   while  it  also  restores  ^"f'^'^^''"^- 
valuable  elements  in  the  form  of  gases  to  the 
atmosphere,   where   they  at  once   enter  into 
new  combinations  with  healthy  living  organisms 
in  obedience  to  the  order  of  nature. 

To   this   process  by  combustion  I   know  oncobjec- 
now  but  one  objection.    One  only,  indeed,  has  ^IZycatbc 
been  seriously  brought   against  it ;    and  the  "'^''"■""^'^ > 
gravity  of  that  I  do  not  dispute.    So  complete 
is  the  destruction  of  all  noxious  matter  accom- 
plished by  cremation  of  the  body,  that  if  any 
extraneous  poison  happens  to  be  present  in  its 
tissues  before  death,  administered  by  accident 


a  serious 
one, 


132  Modern  Cremation 


and  to  be 
fully  dis- 
cussed. 


I.  Many 
buried 
bodies  arc 
charged 
with  poison, 
and  are 
liable  to 
contaminate 
the  living. 


Further 
inquiry  hcts 
shown  that 
germs  of 
disease. 


or  design,  all  traces  of  it  are  necessarily  de- 
stroyed also.  Hence,  in  those  exceedingly  rare 
but  important  cases  where  the  evidence  of  a 
poisoner's  guilt  depends  on  the  production  by 
chemical  skill  of  the  very  agent  employed,  from 
the  tissues  of  the  body  exhumed  for  the  purpose 
some  time  after  death,  justice  would  be  defeated 
and  the  criminal  would  escape  if  in  that  parti- 
cular instance  cremation  had  been  employed. 
I  do  not  desire  to  underrate  the  force  of  the 
objection  which  lies  against  the  procedure 
on  that  ground  ;  I  intend  to  deal  with  it 
seriously. 

I  should  first,  however,  perhaps  call  to  mind 
the  fact  that  many  bodies  are  committed  to  the 
grave  every  week  in  the  metropolitan  area 
alone,  charged  with  poisons  not  less  dangerous 
to  the  living  population  than  those  which  may 
have  been  used  to  cause  death  by  design.* 
This  statement  which  I  made  at  the  outset  as 
an  argument  in  favour  of  cremation  has  been 
immeasurably  strengthened  by  increased  ex- 
perience gained  since  that  time.  For  the  latest 
discoveries  of  science  point  more  strongly  to 
other  dangers,  arising  still  more  directly  from 
the  buried  dead.  Every  year  records  new  facts 
identifying  the  cause  of  certain  of  the  most 
familiar  types  of  contagious  disease  with  the 

*  See  Chapter  IV.  relating  to  this  subject. 


Mmiy  of  them  flourish  in  the  Soil  i33 

presence  of  minute   organisms,  bacteria,   the  Menu, 
absorption  of  which  into  the  blood,  or  even  in 
some  cases  into  the  alimentary  canal,  suffices 
to  reproduce  the  dangerous  malady.    One  of 
the  most  deadly  scourges  to  our  race,  viz.  tuber- 
cular disease,  is  now  known  to  be  thus  propa- 
gated.    Thus  also  anthrax  or  splenic  fever, 
spores  from  which  are  notoriously  brought  to  t^^esou 
the  surface  from  buried  animals  below,  become 
fatal  to  the  herds  feeding  there  ;  and  it  is  now 
well  known  that  malarious  diseases,  notably 
Roman  fever,  and  even  tetanus,  are  due  to 
bacteria  which  flourish  in  the  soil  itself.  The 
poisons  of  scarlet  fever,  enteric  fever  (typhoid), 
small-pox,  diphtheria,  malignant  cholera,  are  vwst/atai 
undoubtedly  transmissible  through  earth  from  ,pread- 
the  buried  body  by  more  than  one  mode.  And 
thus  by  the  act  of  interment  we  may  literally 
sow  broadcast  through  the  land  innumerable 
seeds  of  pestilence — germs  which  long  retain 
their  vitality,  most  of  them  no  doubt  being 
destroyed  there,  but  many  nevertheless  capable 
at   some  future  time  of  causing  premature 
death  or  ruined  health  in  populous  districts, 
or  where  sanitary  provisions  are  incomplete. 

And  here  I  must  call  attention  to  the  impor- 
tant fact  that  there  is  no  mode  of  interment 
more  dangerous  to  the  living  than  that  termed 
the  "  earth  to  earth "  system   by  which  the 


34  Modern  Cremation 


an  action 
promoted  by 
ike  ''earth 
to  earth  " 
system. 


"£arth 
to  earth  " 
burial 
especially 
dangerous. 


exposure  of  the  body  to  the  soil  is  designed  to 
be  instant  and  complete.    By  this  means  the 
germs  of  disease  just  named  may  be  carried 
with  extreme  rapidity  into  contact  with  the 
living;     and   such   burial— during  a  cholera 
epidemic,  for  example — might  prove  a  ready 
and  active  means  of  disseminating  it.    And  this 
is  precisely  what  was  known  to  happen  during 
the  hurried  and  perfunctory  burial  proceedings 
which  took  place  in  the  fatal  epidemics  of  1849 
and  1854.    How  the  system  of  placing  a  diseased 
or  any  other  body  in  a  mere  basket  for  the 
express  purpose  of  ensuring  contact  at  once 
with  every  channel  by  which  its  contents  may 
escape,  can  be  advocated  for  sanitary  purposes 
or  by  any  sanitary  authority,  I  am  unable  to 
conceive.    For  at  this  instant  these  contents, 
being  in  their  fresh  condition,  possess  the  maxi- 
mum activity  of  virulence  as  poisons,  since 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  time  gradually 
diminishes  it.     If  contact  with  a  peculiarly 
fitting  soil    could  be   ensured,  and  absolute 
certainty  could  be  attained  that  for  two  or 
three  years  or  so  nothing  could  possibly  be 
carried  away  by  any  channel  to  contaminate 
the  living,  then  the  "  earth  to  earth  "  process 
might  be  advocated  with  some  show  of  reason, 
for  the  few  spots  where  such  conditions  could 
be  proved  to  exist.    But  our  thickly  populated 


Defects  in  Earth  to  Earth  System  135 

country  does  not  possess  anything  like  adequate 
cemetery  accommodation  of  this  character  ;  in 
fact,  such  soil  so  favourably  situated  is  by  no  ^umc 
means  to  be  obtained  for  the  purpose  in  every  earth 

,      11       burial  are 

locality.    And  where  it  exists  it  is  invaluable,  .^^^^tedfor 
even  necessary,  for  the  dwellings  of  the  living. 

The  dangerous  germs  of  disease,  and  the  most 
injurious  elements  resulting  from  organic  changes 
in  any  dead  body,  are  unquestionably  slowly 
decomposed  and  rendered  less  pernicious  by 
retention  in  close  coffins  for  a  few  years,  before 
contact  with  the  surrounding  soil  takes  place. 
But  the  adoption  of  a  system  which  is  designed 
to  hasten  dispersion  of  the  elements  by  any  and 
every  channel  open  in  the  soil  six  feet  below 
the  surface,  or  even  much  less— as,  strange  to  say, 
is  now  recommended — so  that  the  same  spot  may 
be  similarly  used  after  a  brief  term  of  years,  is 
fraught  with  risk  to  the  living. 

It  is  vain  to  dream  of  wiping  out  the  reproach  i,npossibh 
to  our  civilization,  which  the  presence  and  power  ^"Jt^^l^i 
of  these  diseases  in  our  midst  assuredly  con-  f/^^^diH 
stitute,  by  any  precaution  or  treatment,  while  are  buried; 
effective  machinery  for  their  reproduction  is  in 
constant  daily  action.    One  of  the  modes  by 
which  buried  infection  may  possibly  reappear, 
is  the  ceaseless  activity  of  the  earth-worm, 
bringing  to  the  surface — which,  indeed,  in  a 
measure  it  slowly  creates — poisonous  matters 


136 


Modern  Cremation 


many 
diseases 
would  dis- 
appear, 
under 

proper  man- 
agevient. 


engendered  in  animal  bodies,  although  covered 
by  a  considerable  depth  of  permeable  soil.  By 
the  method  of  "earth  to  earth"  burial,  this 
process  may  be  at  once  effectively  utilized  for 
the  purpose  of  distributing  them  ;  at  all  events 
opportunity  is  thus  offered,  which  a  stout  coffin 
long  delays,  and  probably  more  or  less  effectively 
prevents.  The  proportion  of  deaths  due  to  the 
diseases  referred  to  is  exceedingly  large.  And 
let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  they  form  no 
necessary  part  of  any  heritage  appertaining  to 
the  human  family.  All  are  preventable,  all 
certainly  destined  to  disappear  at  some  future 
day,  when  man  has  thoroughly  made  up  his 
mind  to  deal  with  them  seriously. 

And  one  of  the  first  steps,  an  absolutely 
essential  step  for  the  attainment  of  the  inestim- 
able result  I  have  proposed,  is  the  cremation  of 
each  body  the  life  of  which  has  been  destroyed 
by  one  of  these  contagious  maladies.  I  know 
no  other  means  by  which  it  can  be  ensured. 
This  subject  has  been  fully  discussed  in  Chapter 
IV. 

2.  "  Poison-  The  next  important  fact  for  our  considera- 
tns  ^'''""^^  ^jQj^  jg^  ^i^at  at  present  no  adequate  means  are 
employed  to  ensure  the  discovery  of  poison  as  a 
cause  of  death  before  burial  takes  place.  That 
"  the  prevention  of  an  evil  is  better  than  its 
cure  '  is  an  old  adage,  full  of  truth  in  its  appli- 


be  discozie 
before  the 
body  is 
buried. 


The  Cause  of  Death  always  to  be  137 

cation  to  most  human  affairs.  It  ought  to  be 
accepted  as  a  principle  that,  for  the  purpose  of 
ensuring  the  safety  of  the  public,  it  is  infinitely 
preferable  to  provide  a  system  adapted  to  detect 
an  act  of  poisoning  before  burial,  rather  than  to 
rely  upon  the  slender  chance  that  may  arise 
hereafter.  Once  the  victim  has  been  consigned 
to  the  grave,  small  hope  remains  that  discovery 
will  take  place.    It  is  often  stated  that  burial  a/ter which 

.  .  .  all  traces 

ensures  the  conservation  of  evidence  that  poison 
has  been  given,  but  without  large  qualification  ^"^^if// 
the  statement  is  very  far  from  true.  Soon  after  <ie'iroyed. 
burial  distinct  traces  of  most  poisons — certainly 
those  which  are  the  most  potent,  such  as 
morphia,  aconite,  atropine,  prussic  acid,  etc., 
are,  sooner  or  later,  decomposed,  strychnine 
being  less  so  than  the  others  named  ;  or  they 
may  become  associated  with  new  septic  poisons 
developed  in  the  body  itself,  which  complicate 
the  steps  of  subsequent  inquiry,  and  invalidate 
unquestionable  evidence  which  was  present  for 
some  days  after  death,  and  might  have  been 
obtained  while  the  body  was  above  ground.* 

There  remains,  then,  chiefly  metallic  poisons  Three  only, 
which  can  be  reckoned  on  as  likely  to  be  detected  "trMefiong 

remain. 

*  But  other  vegetable  alkaloids  of  a  highly  poisonous 
character  exist,  not  necessary  to  name  here,  which  decompose 
much  more  rapidly  when  passing  through  the  alimentary  canal, 
and  cannot  be  detected  in  two  or  three  days,  if  so  soon,  after 
entering  the  system. 


138 


Modern  Cremation 


Carefully 
exantijie 
before 
bitrial. 


Our  neglect 
to  inquire 
is  rcinark- 
able. 

IVe  bury 
thousands 
even 
without 
certificate  ! 


after  exhumation,  practically  three  in  number, 
arsenic,  antimony,  and  mercury.  These  will 
mostly  continue  for  a  considerable  time  in  a 
condition  which  permits  them  to  be  obtained  by 
analysis  from  the  tissues  of  the  person  poisoned. 

At  the  best,  therefore,  exhumation  is  but  a 
clumsy  attempt  to  rectify  culpable  want  of  care 
before  burial.  For  it  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  the  chances  in  favour  of  discovering  poison 
are  at  least  twenty  to  one  if  adequate  inquiry 
be  made  while  the  body  is  above  ground,  as 
compared  with  the  result  of  analysis  made  of 
those  which  have  once  been  buried.  Yet  what 
is  our  position  in  relation  to  this  inquiry  ?  Does 
the  fact  just  named  practically  rule  our  action 
in  this  matter  ?  By  no  means.  Thousands  of 
bodies  are  buried  every  year,  as  we  have  seen, 
even  without  medical  certificate  of  any  kind. 
Of  course  there  are  numerous  deaths  from 
disease  in  which  no  medical  advice  has  been 
demanded,  because  the  warning  symptoms  of 
danger  have  been  absent  or  insufficient ;  and 
for  this  very  reason  an  inquiry  should  be  made 
by  some  competent  official.  And  there  are 
perhaps  occasionally  some  in  which  the  absence 
of  the  medical  man  has  been  ensured  in  further- 
ance of  a  sinister  design.  These  questions  have 
been  considered  at  full  length  in  Chapter  III., 
which  contains  an  account  of  the  Cremation 


Fo7md  befo7^e  Body  is  disposed  of  139 

Society's  continued  and  earnest  endeavours  to 
obtain  a  reform  of  our  law  in  relation  to  the 
certification  of  death. 

The  proportion  of  coroner's  inquests  to  deaths,  Proportion 

_.(?/"  inquests 

moreover,  is  by  no  means  inconsiderable,  but  it  heu. 
is  certainly  less  than  it  ought  to  be.  During 
the  last  two  years  reported,  1896  and  1897,  con- 
siderable improvement  however  has  taken  place. 
See  p.  47. 

But  few  persons  probably  are  aware  of  the  Exhuma- 
infinitesimal  relation  which  exhumation  for  excessively 
legal  purposes  bears,  by  comparison,  with  the 
vast  opportunities  offered  for  the  commission  of 
undiscovered  crime,  due  to  our  imperfect  arrange- 
ments for  inquiry  into  the  cause  of  death  in  all 
ordinary  cases.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that, 
in  a  very  large  proportion  of  these,  the  registra- 
tion is  merely  an  empty  form.  "  To  strain  at  a 
gnat  and  swallow  a  camel,"  as  a  metaplior,  in- 
adequately represents  the  inconsistent  conduct 
of  those  who  continue  to  disregard  the  facilities 
carelessly  permitted  .for  criminal  poisoning,  to 
magnify  the  slender  detective  resources  afforded 
by  exhumation.  Dr.  Danford  Thomas,  the  well- 
known  coroner  for  Central  Middlesex,  informs 
me  that  during  the  last  seven  years  [1890]  he 
has  held  about  10,000  inquests  in  that  district, 
and  only  three  exhumations  have  been  ordered 
during  the  same  period. 


1 40  Modern  Cremation 


special 
inquiry 
made. 


Five  in  a 
year  in  this 
country, 


But  at  my  suggestion,  Dr.  Danford  Thomas 
has  been  good  enough  to  organise  a  systematic 
inquiry  extending  throughout  England  and 
Wales,  designed  to  obtain  the  results  of  ex- 
humation for  the  last  twenty  years  or  there- 
abouts. There  are  334  coroners  in  England  and 
Wales,  of  whom  317,  embracing  all  the  im- 
portant districts,  have  responded  to  a  series  of 
questions  sent  out  to  each  for  the  purpose.  Of 
this  number,  62  had  been  directed  to  perform 
exhumation,  and  the  total  number  of  exhuma- 
tions was  102.  From  these  data  it  may  be 
estimated  that  the  mean  number  of  exhuma- 
tions made  in  a  year  throughout  England  and 
Wales  is  only  five,  and  less  than  one  yearly  for 
poison!  The  number  of  inquests  during  1886 
was  30,548 — showing,  as  an  average,  one  ex- 
humation to  every  6,100  inquests. 


EXHUMATIONS  MADE  FOR  MEDICO-LEGAL  PUR- 
POSES IN  ENGLAND  AND  WALES  DURING  THE 
LAST  TWENTY  YEARS. 


ANALYSIS  OF  VERDICTS  IN  102  -CASES  OF  EXHUMATION. 


and  very 
few  of  these 
are  cases  of 
poisoning. 


Natural 
causes. 

Accidental 
causes. 

Murder. 

Manslaughter. 

Open 
verdict. 

57 

20 

13 

4 

8 

The  next  step  in  the  argument  will  take  its 
starting-point  from  the  undeniable  fact  that  a 


Exhumation  rarely  Discovers  it  141 

large  majority  of  deaths  taking  place  in  our  ^^w^. 
community  are  obviously  and  unquestionably  Muhc 

,    •  noted  that 

natural.  It  is  very  desirable  to  ascertam  as  ^i^^^.^^n 
nearly  as  possible  what  is  the  proportion  of 
these,  or,  inversely,  what  is  the  percentage  of  natural 
those  about  which  some  doubt  as  to  the  cause 
may  be  entertained.  I  have  carefully  studied 
this  question,  and  it  is  important  to  consider  it 
before  we  come  to  close  quarters  with  the 
obiection  started  at  the  outset.    I  suppose  no  certainly 

J  1  1  •    I.        4.  mne-tentlts 

one  will  imagine  that  there  is  the  slightest  ofthem. 
ground  for  doubt  about  the  nature  of  the  fatal 
attack,  in  other  words  the  cause  of  death,  in, 
say,  nine-tenths  of  the  cases  which  occur.  In 
fact,  the  proportion  of  obviously  natural  causes 
is  much  larger  than  that.  Old  age  and  natural 
decay ;  all  zymotic  or  contagious  diseases, 
most  of  which  have  been  enumerated  ;  the  acute 
and  chronic  diseases  of  the  lung  and  other  local  seven  per 
organs,  cancer,  diabetes,  rheumatic  affections, 

determined 

childbirth,  besides  the  7  per  cent,  of  unknown  f^^.^'Jf^^.^ 
cases  determined  by  the  coroner,  leave  a  narrow  ^"^''"y 
margin  for  doubtful  examples.  In  acute  dysen- 
tery or  diarrhoea,  and  in  some  affections  of  the 
brain,  intelligent  circumspection  is  necessary  in 
relation  to  the  possibility  of  poisoning  by  irri- 
tants, in  the  first  class  of  cases,  or  by  narcotics 
in  the  second.  Then  in  infantile  disorders, 
especially  among   illegitimate   children  j  and 


142  Modern  Cremation 


Perhaps 
one  or  tzuo 
i>er  cent, 
more  would 
be  referred 
to  the 
coroner  by 
an  official 
investi- 
gator. 


Very  few 
convictions 
for  poison- 
ing obtained 
ttndcr 
present 
system. 


among  the  poorest  class  where  the  lives  of 
infants  are  insured,  observation  should  be  alert. 

Regarding    all  sources   of  uncertainty,  I 
think  one  case  in  a  hundred  of  the  average 
mortality  at  all  ages  would  be  a  fair  estimate  of 
the  proportion  in  which  good  reason  exists  for 
making  more  careful  inquiry  than  our  present 
system  ensures.    In  other  words,  the  present 
system,  demanding  as  it  does  exercise  of  the 
coroner's    function  in  7  per  cent,  of  deaths, 
further  inquiry  may  be  found  desirable  in  two 
or  three  per  cent,  more  by  the  official  who  shall 
be  designated  for  the  purpose.    This  is  a  con- 
siderable  addition,  because   it   must   be  re- 
collected   that   the  coroner's  quest  is  chiefly 
needed   to    investigate   mechanical  accidents 
causing  death,  and  personal  violence,  of  which 
evidence  is  easily  available.    It  is  not  alto- 
gether a  secret  that  some  medical  men  of  large 
experience  hold  the  opinion  that  the  adminis- 
tration of  poison  causing  death  is  not  so  uncom- 
mon as  the  infrequent  discovery  of  the  act 
might  be  held  to  indicate.    Conviction  in  a 
court  of  justice  following  the  crime  is  very  rare. 
The  present  system  of  burial  after  certificate 
throws  very  little  light  on  the  class  of  doubtful 
cases.    And  yet  we  are  gravely  forbidden  to 
practise    cremation,     which     would  deprive 
thousands  of  bodies  now  buried  of  those  ele- 


Compttlsory  only  in  some  Diseases  143 

ments  which  are  dangerous  to  the  living,  lest 
perchance  in  a  solitary  case  of  criminal  poison- 
ing, which  we  have  neglected  through  careless- 
ness or  indifference  to  investigate  at  a  fitting 
time,  that  is  shortly  after  death,  the  chance 
should  be  lost,  should  some  years  afterwards 
suspicions  arise  of  acquiring  the  then  question- 
able evidence  which  exhumation  might  afford. 

The  advocates  of  cremation,  as   I  learned  Advocates 

•  ,i  •  11  -11  of  cremation 

With  surprise  some  years  ago,  have  been  widely  ^^„y^ 
misunderstood  as  to  the  extent  of  their  aims;  ^'T^l^, 

^   should  be 

and  that  a  wide  belief  exists  that  they  proposed,  "ptionai: 
or  at  all  events  have  desired,  to  make  cremation 
compulsory.    Let  it  be  understood  then,  once  for 
all,  that  we  have  never  suggested  that  any  man 
should  be  submitted  to  the  process  against 
his  own  will,  or  indeed  without  his  expressed 
desire  or  that  of  his  nearest  friends.    As  to  en- 
forcing it  in  all  cases  by  legal  enactment,  as  has 
been  imagined  by  some,  so  far  indeed  have  we 
been  from  holding  such  views,  that  we  have 
ventured  to  suggest  only  that  Parliamentary  co,nj>uisory 
sanction  might  be  advantageously  given  for  its  TJ^ns""' 
compulsory  use  after  death  from  some  of  the  ''"^"■f"- 
most  dangerously  contagious  diseases.  Vide 
Chapter  V. 

All  we  have  ever  asked  is  that  cremation 
should  be  optional ;  that  it  should  be  recog- 
nized as  legal  (it  is  not  illegal) ;  that  leave  to 


144  Modern  Cremation 


A  nd  the 
desire  to 
practise  it 
only  under 
stringent 
conditions, 
so  as  to 
avoid  it 
when  doubt 
exists  as 
to  cause  of 
death. 


Safety  at- 
taincd  by 
following 
means : — 


perform  it  should  be  granted  only  under  certain 
conditions ;  and  that  adequate  precautions 
should  be  taken  against  its  abuse,  so  that  the 
destruction  of  evidence  against  criminal  poison- 
ing should  be  rendered  almost  if  not  quite  im- 
possible, through  the  exercise  of  more  than 
ordinary  care, 

I  earnestly  ask  the  great  public  to  consider 
the  significant  fact  that  the  advocates  of  crema- 
tion have  sought  to  perform  it  under  the  above- 
mentioned  specific  conditions  ;  and  have  brought 
Bills  into  the  Parliament  of  this  country  and 
that  of  New  South  Wales  to  obtain  these 
objects  ;  *  while  our  opponents  have  done  no- 
thing to  diminish  or  prevent  the  dangers  they 
allege  to  attend  on  cremation,  and  which  do 
largely  appertain  to  burial,  while  they  have 
actually  voted  in  majorities  to  prevent  others 
from  doing  so.  Had  the  practice  of  cremation  in 
our  own  country  not  been  conducted  thus  far 
with  watchful  caution  such  dangers  might  have 
been  realised. 

The  directions  here  conceived  to  be  neces- 
sary for  all  medical  officers,  especially  those 
associated  with  cremation  examinations,  regard- 
ing not  only  the  danger  of  destroying  evidence 
against  crime,  whether  by  burial  in  earth  or  by 

*  House  of  Commons,  April,  1884;  Legislative  Assembly 
of  Sydney,  August,  18S6. 


R^Ues  for  Safe  Procedure  145 

cremation,  but  also  of  causing  evil  to  the  living, 
may  be  thus  finally  summarised. 

First.  In  all  cases  of  incomplete  evidence  as  i.  Refine 
to  the  cause  of  death ;  never  be  satisfied  with-  twn  in 
out  further  inquiry.    In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  fj^^J-^"^ 
the  doubt  is  soluble  without  difficulty.    If  in- 
soluble after  a  simple  search  for  fresh  facts,  an 
autopsy,   or,  as  a  last  resource,  a  coroner's 
inquiry,  will  determine  the  question.     In  no 
doubtful  case  let  the  body  be  cremated  unless 
the  precaution  can  be  taken  of  transferring  the 
stomach  and  a  portion  of  some  internal  organ, 
say  the  liver,  to  an  appropriate  jar,  sealed, 
recorded  and  preserved.    This  is  a  proceeding  ^^^^ 
I  suggested  and  strongly  advised,  as  a  complete  f^^f^'^ 
safeguard  against  destroying  evidence  of  poison  ^fj^^r"^^  ^ 
by  cremation,  when  first  advocating  it  in  1874. 
If  the  friends  object  to  the  proposal,  let  the  body 
be  buried  by  all  means  ;  we  have  avoided  the 
doubtful  case. 

Moreover,  we  have  done  so  without  raising 
an  imputation.  If  any  arise,  it  is  solely  due 
to  the  action  of  those  who  have  declined  a 
private  autopsy  requested  by  the  officer  re- 
sponsible for  cremation,  who  merely  desired  to 
avoid  the  slightest  chance  of  applying  the 
process  to  a  body  when  the  cause  of  death 
is  not  apparent.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  an 
objection  to  such  a  proceeding;  but  if  there 

L 


146 


Modern  Cremation 


2.  Always 
employ  the 
Society's 
/bfyns  of 
inquiry. 


3.  Cremate 
if  possible 
all  bodies 
dying  of 
contagious 
disease. 

If  not,  the 
use  of 
chemical 
agents  to 
counteract 
danger 
should  be 
compulsory. 


is,  as  I  said  before,  the  cemetery  is  always 
open. 

Secondly.  In  the  search  for  facts  relating 
to  the  fatal  illness  causing  death,  employ  the 
system  adopted  in  the  forms  entitled  "  Certifi- 
cates of  the  cause  of  death  "  etc.,  used  by  the 
Cremation  Society  of  England  {vide  Appendix 
C),  sending  also  a  letter  to  the  medical 
attendant  of  the  deceased,  and  to  one  other  for 
an  independent  opinion,  reminding  them  that 
cremation  is  proposed  if  no  objection  should 
appear. 

Thirdly.  Cremate,  as  already  fully  con- 
sidered, all  bodies  where  death  is  due  to  highly 
contagious  disease  whenever  possible. 

Another  suggestion  comes  appropriately  here. 
If  cremation  be  not  accepted,  and  has  not  been 
made  compulsory  for  such  cases,  it  would  be 
most  desirable  to  fill  the  coffin,  after  the  body  is 
placed  therein,  with  quicklime,  not  longer  than 
twenty-four  hours  after  death.*  Less  perfect 
than  cremation,  this  process  at  least  ought  to  be 
enjoined  under  penalty.  It  will  rank  as  a 
national  folly,  if  not  a  crime,  to  omit  this  or  an 
equivalent  safeguard  after  due  warning  given  of 
the  importance  of  protecting  the  living ;  since 


*  A  practice,  long  ago  made  imperative  by  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment, in  many  cases  of  contagious  disease,  afifecting  domestic 
animals  employed  for  human  food. 


In  Determining  Cause  of  Death  147 

there  can  be  no  difficulty  in  resorting  to  this 
mode  of  largely  diminishing,  although  not  of 
extinguishing,  the  risk  from  infection. 

What  has  become  of  the  medico-legal  diffi-  The  objec 

.  ,      ,     Uon  to 

culty  ?  I  contend  that  it  has  absolutely  vanished,  crcvmtion 
And  I  add  that,  if  the  suggestions  here  made  ^^^J^'J'" 
are  adopted,  secret  poisoning,  which  it  must  be  disappears. 
confessed,  owing   to  our  carelessness  in  the 
matter  of  the  certificate,  is  much  more  practi- 
cable at  present  in  this  country  than  in  France 
or  Germany,  would,  thanks  to  the  supporters  of 
cremation,  be  more  readily  detected,  and  there- 
fore would  be  more  unlikely  to  occur,  than  in 
any  other  country  in  the  world. 

I  have  said  that  one  serious  objection  only 

Another 

has  been  made  to  cremation.  It  is  only  of  late,  ^crlmatln, 
however,  that  a  new  objection,  but  in  no  sense 
a  serious  one  has  appeared  in  more  than  one 
quarter,  which  I  will  deal  with  briefly.  I  do  so 
because  it  is  a  plausible  one ;  and,  although  not  a 
doubtless  sincerely  urged,  appears  to  be  entirely 
without  foundation. 

It  is  alleged  that  if  cremation  becomes  the  The  smoke 
rule  of  practice  instead  of  being  a  rare  exception  laf/^J*^^ 
as  at  present,  the  atmosphere  will  be  rendered  ^'Z'"''' 
injurious  to  the  living  through  the  addition  of 
smoke  and  gases  in  enormous  quantity. 

In  reply,  let  me  state,  first,  the  important  no  smoke 
fact  that  no  smoke  is  caused  by  the  incineration 


serious  one. 


1  2 


148 


Modern  Ci'emation 


Noxious 
gases 
too  small 
to  injure 
atmosphere. 


Utilised  at 
once  as  the 
food  of  all 
vegetable 
growth, 


of  a  human  body  at  a  crematorium.    On  the 
other  hand,  all  the  innumerable  tall  chimneys 
throughout  our  country,  whether  from  factories 
of  various  kinds,  or  for  smelting  metals,  for 
electric    light    works,    potteries,  engineering 
works,  etc.,  or   from  the  countless  chimney- 
stacks   of    public    and    private   dwellings  in 
crowded  towns,  pour  forth  day  and  night  dense 
clouds  not  only  of  visible  smoke  to  vitiate  the 
air,  but  also  an  immense  quantity  of  invisible 
gases,  chiefly  carbonic  oxide  and  dioxide.  These 
latter  constitute  a  large  portion  of  the  unseen 
gases  produced  by  cremation.    Supposing,  how- 
ever, that  cremation  were  adopted  after  every 
death  throughout  the  kingdom,  the  result  would 
furnish  only  a  trifling  addition.    Taking  the 
annual  deaths  of  England  and  Wales  at  about 
560,000,  it  would  mean  less  than  2,000  bodies 
cremated  daily,  on  week  days  only,  for  the  entire 
area  named  :  a  number  which  would  not  cause 
the  slightest  perceptible  injury  or  attract  the 
smallest  notice.   But  no  one  dreams  of  adopting 
cremation  for  any  other  than  large  centres  of 
population. 

Secondly,  the  objectors  appear  to  have  greatly 
underrated  the  fact  that  the  chemical  elements 
just  named  form  the  chief  food  of  all  plants, 
whether  garden  vegetables,  growing  crops,  grass, 
flowers,  shrubs,  and  forest  trees  of  every  kind, 


Smoke  and  Gas  from  Chimneys  149 

whose  very  timber,  solid  as  it  is,  is  mainly 
formed  from  these  gaseous  carbon-compounds 
floating  in  the  air,  for  which  purpose  immense 
quantities  are  required.  And  all  these  growths 
obtain  and  absorb  them,  thanks  to  the  wind  and 
to  that  special  power  of  diffusing  in  air  which 
these  gases  possess,  as  soon  as  they  are  produced, 
yielding  pure  oxygen  in  return  thereto  for  our 
benefit.  The  vegetable  world,  indeed,  depends 
for  its  existence  on  the  presence  of  the  impurities  such 

.      J      .        -i-r  impurities. 

produced  by  man  and  other  animals  durmg  lite, 
and  after  death  whether  buried  or  cremated. 
The  leaves — hence  their  countless  number — 
absorb  them  as  natural  food,  to  which  plants 
owe  their  existence  as  we  owe  ours  to  them  as 
food,  as  well  as  to  the  flesh  of  animals,  sheep, 
oxen,  etc.,  who,  living  entirely  on  plants,  provide 
us  with  a  concentrated  and  digestible  dietary  in 
the  form  of  flesh,  fowl,  and  game.    Thus,  at  all 
events  in  a  crematorium  placed  outside  the  town, 
the  invisible  products  described  above  become 
in  less  than  twenty-four  hours  vitalised  agents, 
already  playing  an  active  part  in  vegetable  life, 
until  they  are  ready  to  be  consumed  by  some 
feeding  animal,  and  are  thus  speedily  incorpo- 
rated in  its  life  and  activity.  See  also  pp.  78-80. 

But  at  least  three  other  results  of  a  very  j-j^^^^ 
different  kind,  which  not  only  favourably  affect  ^^^^^^^^^^ 
our  national  resources,  but  agreeably  harmonise  sained  hy 

cremation. 


I50 


Modern  Cremation 


Cremation 
•would  save 
thousands 
oy  acres 
for  pro- 
fitable 
husbandry. 


so  impor- 
tant iji  a 
crowded 
cotmtjy. 


The  Bishop 
of  Man- 
chester's 
remarks. 


with  the  natural  emotions  of  all  who  are  moved 
by  deep  attachment  to  deceased  relatives  and 
friends,  must  be  named,  which  naturally  follow 
the  adoption  of  cremation. 

First.  Thousands  of  acres,  yearly  increasing 
in  number,  might  be  restored  to  better  uses  than 
that  of  becoming  the  mere  receptable  of  decay- 
ing bodies.*  Action  to  this  end  will  be  in- 
evitable some  day,  and  is  simply  a  question  of 
time  and  population.  The  late  Bishop  of  Man- 
chester drew  attention  to  this  obvious  fact  some 
years  ago.  Having  in  the  course  of  duty  to 
consecrate  a  cemetery,  the  Bishop  observed, 
"  Here  is  another  hundred  acres  of  land  with- 
drawn from  the  food-producing  area  of  this 
country  for  ever."  He  went  on  to  state  that 
"  cemeteries  are  becoming  not  only  a  difficulty, 
an  expense,  and  an  inconvenience,  but  an  actual 
danger  ; "  finally  adding,  "  I  hold  that  the  earth 
was  made,  not  for  the  dead,  but  for  the  living. 
No  intelligent  faith  can  suppose  that  any 
Christian  doctrine  is  affected  by  the  manner  in 
which,  or  the  time  in  which,  this  mortal  body  of 
ours  crumbles  into  dust  and  sees  corruption." 

A  small  but  sufficient  portion  of  our  present 
cemeteries  will  no  doubt  be  utilised  for  the 
purposes  of  cremation  ;  the  chapels  being  avail- 


*  The  number  of  acres  at  present  thus  occupied  for  the 
metropolis  is  alone  considerably  upwards  of  two  thousand. 


Cost  of  Land  and  Funeral  Rites  151 

able  as  before  for  services  ;  with  certain  spaces 
reserved  for  the  conservation  or  burial  of  ashes. 
Nine-tenths  of  the  area  will  be  available,  with 
due  care,  for  ornamental  gardens  for  the  use  of 
towns  where  such  exist ;  or,  after  the  lapse  of 
suitable  periods  of  time,  for  other  purposes. 

Secondly.  The  reduction  of  wholly  unneces- 
sary expenditure  upon  funeral  rites  is  accom- 
plished by  cremation.    The  cost  of  funerals  o^^u 
during  the  year  1884  in  England  and  Wales  re.uc^^  t,c 
was  carefully  calculated  by  an  expert  at  nearly  /unerais. 
five  millions  sterling.    One  third  of  this  sum 
would  amply  suffice  for  cremation,  including  the 
use  of  appointments  for  transit,  etc.,  in  the  most 
decorous  manner.    Modern  cremation  does  not 
suggest  or  harmonise  with  display.  Small  as  the 
cost  is  at  present,  it  will  be  largely  diminished 
when  the  demand  has  considerably  increased. 
A  tariff  of  expenditure,  regulated  according  to 
the  varying  requirements  of  applicants,  has 
been  recently  drawn  up,  and  may  be  obtained 
at  the  Office  of  the  Society. 

Thirdly.    Cremation  has  created  an  oppor-  cremation 

•'  ^  enables  tlie 

tunity  for  restoring  the  purified  remains  of  the  ancient 

.  .  churchyards 

Christian  worshipper  to  the  consecrated  precincts  and  crypts 
of  his  church,  whence  the  "  corruptible  body "  J^^J^^^ 
has  now  for  many  years  been  banished  by 
urgent  sanitary  necessity. 

Whether  in  ancient  crypt,  or  in  cloisters 


152 


Modern  Cremation 


which  by 
order  of  the 
H oiiie 
Secretary 
could  be 
reopened 
with 
absolute 
safety. 


newly  erected  for  the  purpose  on  the  long  dis- 
used burying-ground,  the  ashes  of  cremated 
bodies  might  be  deposited,  each  in  its  cell,  in 
countless  numbers  after  religious  service  per- 
formed.   Being  absolutely  harmless,  every  in- 
tramural burying-ground  and  every  vault  or 
tomb  within  our  churches,  long  closed  to  burials 
on  account  of  their  dangerous  influence,  may 
now  be  safely  and  appropriately  utilised  as 
depositories  of  the  ashes,  when  the  last  solemni- 
ties have  taken  place.    It  is  high  time  to  bring 
this  important  fact  under  the  notice  of  the 
Secretary  of  State ;  for  there  is  now  no  pretext 
whatever  for  refusing  to  localities— long  ago 
consecrated  for  the  express  purpose  of  receiving 
human  remains,  and  now  long  closed  on  urgent 
sanitary  grounds  alone— the  restitution  of  their 
ancient  service,  provided  that  all  future  deposits 
are  absolutely  deprived  of  any  and  every  offen- 
sive or  injurious  taint  by  complete  incineration. 
And  this  they  invariably  are  by  all  procedures 
now  employed  as  cremation. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  no  desire  is  mani- 
fested to  preserve  the  relics  of  the  departed,  and 
no  urn  or  casket  is  sought  to  contain  them,  they 
may  be  appropriately  returned  to  the  soil,  and 
thus  be  submitted  without  delay  to  the  process 
of  forming  those  new  combinations  which  must 
inevitably  sooner  or  later  take  place. 


feai 


Cause  of  Death  &  Official  Certificate  153 

Cremation,  indeed,  lends  literal  truth  and  cremation 

J      <t  A  illustrates 

reality  to  the  grand  and  solemn  words,  Asnes  our  ancient 
to  ashes,  dust  to  dust ; "  and  the  impressive 

service,  and 

service  so  well  known  to  us  all,  may,  with  very 
slight  change,*  be  read  with  a  fulness  of  mean-  sentiment. 
ing  never  conveyed  before.  The  last  rite  has 
purified  the  body ;  its  elements  of  physical  evil 
have  been  annihilated  by  fire.  Already  its  dis- 
persed constituents,  having  escaped  the  long 
imprisonment  of  the  tomb,  pursue  their  eternal 
circuit,  in  harmony  with  nature's  uniform  and 
perfect  course. 

In  connection  with  this  wide  subject,  the  dis-  Application 

.111-1  to  Parlia- 

posal  of  the  dead,  whether  it  be  by  burial  or  by  „,ent 
cremation,  I  strongly  urge  once  more  that  the 
Government  be  importuned  to  act  on  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  and  carry  out  their  recommenda- 
tions to  secure  a  better  system  of  examining  and 
certifying  respecting  the  cause  of  death  than 
that  which  the  present  defective  method  offers.f 
At  the  same  time,  the  conditions  on  which 

*  I  have  heard  the  following  passage,  "  We  therefore  com- 
mit his  body  to  the  ground,"  read  "We  therefore  commit  his 
body  to  its  rest,"  over  the  remains  before  cremation,  and  the 
effect  appeared  to  me  harmonious  and  appropriate.  If  read 
over  the  ashes,  after  cremation,  perhaps  the  word  "  remains — 
to  their  rest,"  might  be  properly  substituted  for  "body  to  the 
ground." 

f  See  Chapter  III.,  pp.  51-54. 


essential. 


54  Modern  Creination 


Regulations 
suggested 
for  the 
registration 
of  death, 
and  ma7i- 
agement 
of  cre- 
matories. 
Official 
certificate 
indis- 
pensable 
befo?-e 
burial  or 
cremation 


Official 
examiner 
in  every 
case  of 
death. 


zvho  cer- 
tifies tfie 
cause  or 
demands  an 
inquest. 


cremation  should  be  performed  should  be  con- 
sidered and  determined. 

I  venture  to  offer  the  following  suggestions 
by  way  of  indicating  the  chief  provisions  to  be 
settled  by  any  Bill  introduced  into  Parliament 
to  regulate  the  registration  of  death  and  the  dis- 
posal of  the  dead  : — 

1.  No  body  to  be  buried,  burned,  or  other- 
wise disposed  of  without  a  medical  certificate 
of  death  signed,  after  personal  knowledge  and 
observation,  or  by  information  obtained  after 
investigation  made  by  a  qualified  medical  officer 
appointed  for  the  purpose. 

2.  A  qualified  medical  man  should  be  ap- 
pointed as  official  certifier  in  every  parish,  or 
district  of  neighbouring  parishes,  whose  duty  it 
would  be  to  inquire  in  all  cases  of  death  and 
report  the  cause  in  writing,  together  with  such 
other  details  as  may  be  deemed  necessary. 

3.  If  the  circumstances  of  death  obviously 
demand  a  coroner's  inquest,  the  case  is  to  be 
transferred  to  his  court  and  the  cause  deter- 
mined, with  or  without  autopsy.  If  there 
appears  to  be  no  ground  for  holding  an  inquest, 
and  autopsy  be  necessary  to  the  furnishing  of  a 
certificate,  the  official  certifier  will  make  it,  and 
state  the  result  in  his  report. 

4.  No  person  or  company  should  be  hence- 
forth permitted  to  construct  or  use  an  apparatus 


Hints  for  Parliamentary  Procedure  155 

for  burning  human  bodies  without  Hcense  from  Aiurema. 
the  Home  Secretary,  Local  Government  Board  licensed  by 

J  Home 

or  other  authority  as  determmed.  secretary. 
No  crematory  should  be  so  employed  None  to  be 

->  employed 

unless  the  site,  construction,  and    system  01  until  after 

.  ■,      f-.  inspection, 

management  have  been  approved  atter  survey 

and  to  be 

by  an  officer  appointed  by  Government  for  the  J^^^J 
purpose.  But  the  license  to  construct  or  use  a 
crematory  should  not  be  withheld  if  guarantees 
are  given  that  the  conditions  required  are  or 
will  be  complied  with.  All  such  crematories  to 
be  subject  at  all  times  to  inspection  by  an 
officer  appointed  by  the  Government. 

6.  The  burning  of  a  human  body,  otherwise  Cremation 

t         •  r/~   •   11  -1  1     11  otherwise 

than  m  an  officially  recognised  crematory,  shall  mcgai. 
be  illegal,  and  punishable  by  penalty. 

7.  No  human  body  shall  be  burned  unless  Nocrcma- 

.  ,         .  ,  ,  /.  f.  tion  ujithotU 

the  official  examiner  who  signs  the  certificate  of  official 
death  shall,  in  consequence  of  application  made, 
add  the  words  "  Cremation  permitted."  And 
this  he  will  be  bound  to  do  if,  after  due  inquiry, 
with  or  without  autopsy  or  coroner's  inquest, 
he  is  satisfied,  and  can  certify  that  the  deceased 
has  died  from  natural  causes,  and  not  from  ill- 
treatment,  poison,  or  violence. 


APPENDIX. 


A.  Present   Constitution    of  the  Cremation 

Society  of  England  ;  and  Notes  respecting 
Locality  of  the  Crematorium  at  Woking. 

B.  General  Directions  for  arranging  a  Cre- 

mation, with  Details. 

C.  A  Copy   of    the   Instructions   forming  a 

Schedule,  used  in  connection  with  every 
Death  occurring  in  Paris  and  the  large 
Cities  of  France. 


A 


THE  CREMATION  SOCIETY  OF 
ENGLAND. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  COUNCIL,  1899. 
President. 

Sir  Henry  Thompson,  Bart,  F.R.C.S.  &c. 

Vice-President. 
His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Westminster,  K.G. 

Sir  Arthur  Arnold,  L.C.C. 

Jas.  S.  Budgett,  Esq. 

Sir  Charles  Cameron,  Bart.,  M.P. 

Mrs.  Rose  M.  Crawshay. 

Dr.  Farquharson,  M.P. 

J.  S.  Fletcher,  Esq.,  J, P.,  L.C.C. 

Rev.  pi.  R.  Haweis,  M.A. 

Rev.  Brooke  Lambert,  M.A. 

Right  Hon.  Lord  Playfair. 

W.  Robinson,  Esq.,  F.L.S. 

Martin  Ridley  Smith,  Esq. 

J.  C.  Swinburne-Hanham,  Esq.  {Hon.  Secretary). 

Rev.  Charles  Voysey,  B.A. 

Secretary :  Mr.  T.  Duggan. 
Offices :  324,  Regent  Street,  London,  W. 
Telegrams:  "Crematorium,  London," 
Telephone  No.  1907  : — "Gerrard." 


Modern  Cremation 


Objects  and  Membership. 

This  Society  was  formed  to  promote  the  objects 
set  forth  in  the  following  Declaration  : — 

"We  disapprove  the  present  custom  of  burying 
the  dead,  and  desire  to  substitute  some  mode 
which  shall  rapidly  resolve  the  body  into  its 
component  elements  by  a  process  which 
cannot  offend  the  Hving,  and  shall  render 
the  remains  absolutely  innocuous.  Until 
some  better  method  is  devised,  we  desire  to 
adopt  that  usually  known  as  Cremation." 

And 

"To  move  the  Government  to  appoint  a  local 
officer  in  every  district,  to  make  a  more 
searching  inquiry  as  to  the  cause  of  death  in 
every  case,  as  is  now  the  custom  in  most 
Continental  countries,  so  as  to  decide  on  the 
necessity,  or  otherwise,  for  a  coroner's  inquest 
in  all  doubtful  cases  before  interment  or 
Cremation  take  place." 

Membership. 

The  Conditions  of  Membership  are  : 

I. — Adhesion  by  signature  to  the  above  declara- 
tion. 

II. — An  Annual  Subscription  of  One  Guinea,  or  a 
single  payment  of  Ten  Guineas. 

N.B. — The  payment  of  Ten  Guineas  also  entitles  a 
Member  to  be  Cremated  at  death,  subject  to  the  tisual 
conditions  being  jirst  complied  with,  without  further 
fee  to  the  Society. 
An  Annual  Subscription  of  5^.  constitutes  a  person  an 

"Associate." 


Appendix 


i6i 


The  Crematorium. 

Situation  of  Crematorium. 

The  Crematorium,  which  stands  in  the  picturesque 
seclusion  of  its  own  well-wooded  grounds,  is  situated 
in  the  parish  of  St.  John's,  two  and  a  quarter  miles 
from  Woking  Station,  on  the  main  line  of  the  London 
&  South-Western  Railway,  which  is  in  communica- 
tion with  all  the  Railway  systems  having  termini  in 
London. 

Description  of  Buildings. 

The  Buildings  comprise  a  handsome  Chapel,  com- 
municating with  which  is  the  Crematorium,  and 
comfortable  Waiting  and  Retiring  Rooms.  The  lodge 
at  the  entrance  to  the  grounds  is  occupied  by  the 
Society's  attendant,  who  will  show  inquirers  over 
the  premises,  daily,  between  lo  and  5,  unless  a  Cre- 
mation is  proceeding  or  about  to  take  place.  See 
Frontispiece  and  Plates  in  Chapters  L  and  11. 


M 


1 62  Modern  Cremation 


B 

GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  FOR 
ARRANGING  A  CREMATION. 

Conditions  to  be  fulfilled  before  Cremation  is  performed. 

I.  The  arrangements  for  Cremating  a  body  are 
available  to  the  Public  on  the  following  conditions 
being  fulfilled  : — 

(a)— An  application  in  writing  must  be  made  by 
the  Executor  or  nearest  relative  of  the 
deceased — unless  it  has  been  made  by  the 
deceased  person  himself  during  life — stating 
that  it  was  the  wish  of  the  deceased  to  be 
Cremated  after  death,  or  that  he  enter- 
tained no  objection  thereto. 
ip) — Two  certificates  from  duly  qualified  Medical 
Men  are  required  relative  to  the  cause  of 
death,  one,  at  least,  of  whom  must  have 
attended  the  deceased.    These  the  Society 
obtain  direct,  and  it  is  therefore  necessary 
in  making  application  for  Cremation  that 
the  names  and  addresses  of  such  Medical 
Men  be  given  in  full. 
(<:)— The  payment  to  the  Society  of^5 ,  unless  the 
deceased  had  been  a  Life  Member,  in  which 
case  no  further  fee  is  required. 
The  above  certificates  must  satisfy  the  Council  of  the 
Society  or  their  representative  as  to  the  cause  of  death, 
and  in  some  rare  or  doubtful  case  an  Autopsy  may  be 
desirable. 


Appendix 


163 


Prompt  notice  to  be  sent  to  Society. 

2.  Immediately  on  death,  notice  thereof,  with  the 
names  and  addresses  of  the  two  Medical  Men  [see  par. 
I  (b)]  should  be  sent  to  the  Office  of  the  Society 
(324,  Regent  Street,  where  the  Secretary  also  resides, 
and  will  attend  to  applications  at  any  time),  after 
which  an  undertaker  should  be  instructed  to  supply 
a  suitable  shell.  The  ordinary  Registrar's  certificate 
for  burial  should  be  forwarded  to  the  office  of  the 
Society  as  soon  as  possible.  This  will  be  returned  to 
the  undertaker  in  charge  of  the  funeral. 

The  Coffin. 

3.  It  cannot  be  too  clearly  understood  that  it  is 
most  undesirable  to  encase  the  body  in  a  heavy  or 
costly  coffin ;  a  light  pine  shell  is  the  best 

RECEPTACLE  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF  CREMATION.  There 

is  no  reason  why,  for  the  funeral  service,  a  simple 
shell  should  not  suffice,  and  it  may  be  covered  with 
cloth  at  a  very  small  expense,  if  preferred.  When, 
however,  it  is  intended  to  hold  a  funeral  service  in 
public,  and  with  some  degree  of  ceremony,  before 
Cremation,  a  more  ornate  coffin  may  be  used  if 
desired,  but  it  should  contain  the  shell  described, 
which  can  be  afterwards  removed.  Cremation  is 
more  rapidly  and  satisfactorily  performed  if  the  shell 
is  not  burnt  with  the  body.  In  that  case,  before  it  is 
placed  in  its  shell,  the  body  should  be  completely 
enveloped  in  a  woollen  wrapper  of  a  special  kind, 
which  most  undertakers  are  prepared  to  provide.  If 
this  is  done  the  body  can  be  easily  and  quickly 
removed  from  the  shell  before  Cremation  without  the 
slightest  exposure  or  interference  with  the  woollen 
envelope.    A  body  should  not  be  removed  from  the 


M  2 


164  Modern  Cremation 


shell  unless  the  above  preparation  has  been  made, 
nor  in  cases  where  death  is  due  to  infectious  disease. 
In  no  case  is  it  removed  if  contrary  to  the  wish  of  the 
person  giving  instructions  for  the  Cremation. 

Charges  and  Extras. 

4.  Upon  receiving  notice  of  the  death,  an  applica- 
tion form  is  sent  to  be  filled  in  by  the  executor  or 
the  nearest  relative  of  the  deceased,  and  this  should 
be  returned  to  the  Society  at  once,  with  the  sum  of  ^5, 
the  charge  for  the  Cremation,  services  of  attendants 
at  the  Crematorium,  use  of  Chapel  and  waiting-room, 
as  well  as  a  simple  urn  for  the  preservation  of  the 
ashes.  If,  however,  it  be  desired  that  the  local 
clergyman  (who  has  kindly  consented  to  act  when  de- 
sired) should  officiate  at  the  Funeral  Service  in  the 
Chapel,  the  applicant  must  give  early  notice  at  the 
Society's  Office,  and  in  the  event  of  his  services  being 
required,  a  fee  of  one  guinea  must  be  paid  to  him  direct 
at  the  time.  Any  other  person  appointed  by  the 
friends  may  take  the  service  if  preferred. 

Bearers  can  be  supplied^  to  meet  body  at 
Woking  Station,  to  save  expense. 

5.  It  is  thus  seen  that  the  above  charge  covers  all 
expenses  after  the  body  has  reached  the  Crematorium, 
excepting  the  fees  to  the  clergyman  :  but,  further,  it  is 
not  necessary,  unless  specially  desired,  to  incur  the 
expense  of  bringing  the  undertaker's  assistants  from 
London  to  Woking  Station,  since,  by  communicating 
with  us,  Bearers  will  be  sent  to  meet  the  train  and 
place  the  body  in  the  hearse.  The  charge  for  this 
extra  service  is  2s.  6d.  for  each  Bearer,  four  being 
the  usual  number  required.    The  cost  of  cremating  at 


Appendix  165 


Woking  the  body  of  a  person  dying  in  London  need 
not  exceed  fifteen  guineas,  inclusive  of  transit  and  all 
other  charges. 

Hearse  and  Carriages  available. 

6.  In  the  event  of  a  body  having  to  be  brought 
from  a  distance,  any  of  the  railway  companies  will 
provide  a  special  carriage  on  the  usual  notice  being 
given,  and  convey  direct  to  Woking,  where  the  use  of 
a  Hearse  can  be  obtaining  for  conveyance  to  the 
Crematorium,  also  either  pair-horse  or  single-horse 
carriages. 

The  London  Necropolis  Company,  188,  West- 
minster Bridge  Road,  and  2,  Lancaster  Place,  Strand, 
have  had  a  large  experience  in  making  suitable  arrange- 
ments for  carrying  out  Cremations,  and  have  a 
private  station  at  Waterloo  for  the  departure  of  trains 
conveying  the  body  and  mourners  to  Woking. 

Medical  Certificates. 

7.  In  the  meantime,  our  form  of  medical  certifi- 
cate has  been  sent  to  the  medical  attendant  of  the 
deceased,  who,  after  filling  in  and  signing  it,  must 
forward  it  to  the  other  medical  practitioner,  and  each 
receives  express  instructions  in  relation  to  his  duty. 
If  the  latter  is  also  satisfied  that  the  statements  made 
relative  to  the  cause  of  death  are  correct,  and  that 
there  are  no  circumstances  likely  to  render  exhuma- 
tion of  the  body  necessary,  he  will  certify  to  that 
effect. 

Time  for  Cremation  to  take  place. 

8.  The  Cremation,  if  the  death  has  occurred  in 
London  or  the  suburbs,  usually  takes  place  on  the 


]66 


Modern  Cremation 


second  day  after  the  day  on  which  notice  is  given  at 
the  Society's  office.  If  the  remains  are  lying  in  the 
country  the  Cremation  would  take  place  a  day  later. 
If  specially  desired,  however,  arrangements  can  be 
made  for  the  Cremation,  in  either  case,  to  be  carried 
out  earlier. 

The  most  convenient  times  for  Cremation  are  as 
follows  : 

Train  leaves  Waterloo.  Hours  for  Cremation. 

9.30  A.M.        .         .         .      10.45  A.M. 
1 1.45  A.M.        .         .         .       1. 18  P.M. 
2.29  P.M.        .         ,         .3.45  P.M. 

These,  however,  are  not  obligatory,  and  can  be  varied 
if  desired. 

Friends  may  follow  body  into  Cremation  Chamber. 

9.  Upon  the  arrival  of  the  body  at  the  Crematorium, 
if  there  is  a  funeral  service  it  is  at  once  proceeded 
with,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  the  remains  are 
conveyed  into  the  Crematorium,  where  they  may  be 
followed  by  the  friends  of  the  deceased ;  but  no  in- 
spection of  the  actual  process  of  cremation  is  on  any 
account  permitted.  The  operation  usually  occupies 
about  one  hour  and  a-half,  and  the  ashes  are  then 
gathered  together  by  the  Society's  officer  and  placed 
in  an  urn  for  preservation.  Scrupulous  care  is  taken 
to  maintain  them  intact  and  pure  for  this  purpose. 

Urns  may  be  deposited  in  Chapel  or  buried  in 
grounds. 

10.  The  urn  containing  the  ashes  may  be  left  in 
one  of  the  niches  in  the  Chapel  for  one  calendar 
month  from  the  date  of  the  Cremation,  free  of  charge. 


Appendix 


167 


to  enable  the  friends  to  secure  a  suitable  permanent 
resting  place  ;  if  it  be  left  beyond  that  time  a  fee  of 
five  shillings  per  month  is  required,  but  the  Society 
will  not  be  responsible  for  it  beyond  one  year  from  the 
date  of  the  Cremation,  unless  special  arrangements 
for  permanent  deposit  there  are  made. 

II.  For  those  who  desire  the  ashes  to  be  buried  in 
the  grounds  of  the  Crematorium,  a  special  portion  has 
been  set  aside  and  cultivated,  in  which  an  urn  can  be 
buried  for  the  fee  of  one  guinea,  within  a  given  space, 
and  preserved  intact. 


The  following  form  has  been  prepared  to  enable  those 
who  prefer  cremation  to  burial  to  record  in  precise  terms  their 
wishes  and  directions  in  relation  thereto. 

The  form  should  be  signed,  dated,  and  witnessed  in 
duplicate.  One  copy  should  be  deposited  with  the  signer's 
executor,  or  next  of  kin,  and  the  other  sent  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Cremation  Society  of  England,  by  whom  it  will  be 
preserved  and  regarded  as  confidential. 

/  hereby  express  to  my  survivors  my  earnest  desire  that  on 
my  decease  my  body  shall  be  cremated  according  to  the  system 
employed  by  the  Cremation  Society  of  England,  andtmder 
the  arrangements  made  by  the  Society  for  the  purpose. 

Signature 
Address 

Date  

Witnessed  by 

Signature. 

 Address. 

Date. 

N.B.—It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  abme  is  only  a 
request,  and  has  no  legal  force.  It  is  therefore  very  necessary 
that  the  executor  or  executors  should,  at  the  same  time,  exjues 
their  wilhngness  to  carry  these  instructions  out. 


Modern  Cremation 


FORMS  NECESSARY  TO  BE  DULY  FILLED  UP 
WHENEVER  CREMATION  IS  DESIRED. 

Form,  No.  i. 

APPLICATION  FROM  EXECUTOR,  OR  THE  NEAREST 
RELATIVE  OF  DECEASED. 

I,  (Name) 
(Address) 

(Occupation)  ''.""'.''''.'.'hereby  request 

the  Cremation  Society  of  England  to  undertake  the  cremation 
of  the  body  of 

and  I  certify  that  the  deceased  expressed  no  objection  (orally  or 
in  writing)  to  being  cremated  after  death. 

Medical  certificates  of  the  cause  of  death  are,  or  will  be 
forwarded. 

(Signature)  

Important. — This  form,  when  filled  in,  is  to  be  returned 
to  the  office  of  the  Cremation  Society,  the  address  of  the 
medical  man  who  has  attended  the  deceased  being  required  as 
soon  as  possible. 

Note. — When  no  medical  certificate  can  be  procured,  an 
autopsy  must  be  made  and  certified  by  a  medical  officer  ap- 
proved by  the  Society,  and  at  the  expense  of  the  applicant  or 
of  the  estate  of  the  deceased. 


Appendix 


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THE  FORMS  ADOPTED  BY  THE  APPOINTED 
OFFICERS  IN  EVERY  CASE  OF  DEATH 
OCCURRING  IN  PARIS  AND  THE  LARGE 
CITIES  OF  FRANCE. 

Form  No.  i  is  sent  by  the  municipal  authority  to 
the  official  medical  examiner,  requiring  him  to  verify 
the  fact  of  the  cause  of  death. 

Form  No.  2  is  the  certificate  which,  after  examina- 
tion of  the  body,  the  medical  examiner  leaves  with 
the  family,  who  send  it  to  the  municipal  authority. 
Permission  to  bury  can  then  be  obtained. 

Form  No.  3  is  the  record  which  is  made  by  the 
medical  examiner  and  preserved  by  the  authorities. 


Appendix 


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INDEX 


Apparatus  for  cremation  :  2  ; 
Professor  Gorini's  adopted  at 
Woking,  9,  10,  71  ;  at  Milan, 
13,  14;  at  various  towns  in 
Italy,  14  ;  at  the  Paris  cre- 
matorium, 17,  18  ;  70-1,  114 

Arnold,  Sir  Arthur,  8,  1 59 

Ashes,  weight  of,  25  ;  disposal 
of,  25,  26,  151-2 

Asquith,  Mr.,  Home  Secretary, 
receives  deputation  relative  to 
the  appointment  of  a  "Health 
Minister,"  and  to  the  defects 
in  registration,  45-50 ;  ap- 
points a  Select  Committee  on 
the  subject  of  Death-regis- 
tration, 51  ;  receives  a  second 
deputation,  54 

Australia,  progress  of  the  crema- 
tion movement  in,  16,  144 

Autopsy,  sometimes  necessary 
before  cremation,  23,  145 

Bacteria  from  the  dead,  pro- 
pagation of  disease  by,  133 

Bale,  crematorium  at,  16 

Bedford,  (ninth)  Duke  of,  his 
generous  help  in  erecting  the 
chapel  &c.  at  Woking,  31, 
32,  34  ;  his  private  crematory, 
32,  33.  34  ;  cremation  of  his 
remains,  34 

Belgium,  cremation  society  in, 
15 

Bibliography,  3.  5.  12,  13 


Bill  introduced  into  Parliament 
by  Sir  Charles  Cameron,  20, 
21 

Birmingham,  experiments  at,  3, 
115  note ;  meeting  in  favour 
of  cremation  at,  61 

Blandford,  cases  of  private 
cremation  at,  18,  19 

Blankets  for  enveloping  the 
body,  28,  and  Appendix  B 

Blue  Book  on  Death  Certifica- 
tion, 51  sqq. 

Bologna,  cremations  at,  14 

Bone-earth,  weight  and  value 
of,  86,  93 

Bones,  imported,  cost  of,  86, 
87 

Bramwell,  Lord,  8 
Brescia,  cremations  at,  14 
Breslau,  case  of  cremation  at,  3 
British    Medical  Association, 
address  on  cremation  by  Sir 
Spencer  Wells  at  a  meeting 
of,    II;    address  on  death- 
registration  and  cremation  by 
the    author    at   the  Bristol 
meeting  of,  54 
British  Museum,  the,  examples 

of  cistce  in,  38  note 
Brooks,  Shirley,  6 
Brunetti,  Professor,  exhibits  the 
results  of  his  experiments  at 
the  Vienna    Exhibition,  2, 
93 

Buchanan,  Dr.  George,  115 
Budgett,  Mr.  James  A.,  8,  159 


l82 


Modern  Cremation 


Burial,  in  the  earth,  risks  of, 
66-70,  73,  83,  110  ;  various 
modes    of,    81,    82  ;  Mr. 
Holland's  defence  of,  97  sqq. 
Burial  in  the  sea,  121 
Burial,  premature,  91,  92 
Burial  service,  its  adaptation  for 
cremation  purposes,  153  and 
note 

Burr,  Mr.  Higford,  8 


Cadoxton  Churchyard,  in 

Cameron,  M.P.,  Sir  diaries,  8  ; 
brings  a  Cremation  Bill  into 
Parliament,  20,  21  ;  opens 
the  Glasgow  crematorium,  60 ; 
addresses  meeting  at  Birming- 
ham, 61  ;  159 

Cemeteries,  land  that  ought  to 
be  cultivated  used  for,  150 

Certificates,  medical,  20,  23  ; 
burials  without,  47,  52,  58, 
59.  {See  also  Registration  of 
Deaths,  and  Appendix  A) 

Certificates  of  death  required  in 
France,  Appendix  C 

Certifier,  official,  necessity  for 
the  appointment  of  an,  48, 
49,  56,  57,  122,  124;  his 
duties  and  fees,  55-57,  142, 
154  ;  on  the  Continent,  123- 
125.    {See  also  Appendix  C) 

Chadwick,  Dr.  Edwin,  104 

Changes,  molecular,  after  death. 

Chapel  at  Woking  Crematorium, 
erection  of,  31 -3  3 

Charges  for  cremation,  28,  29, 
36,  151,  and  Appendix  B 

Churchyards,  utilization  of,  for 
preserving  the  ashes  of  cre- 
mated bodies,  152 

Cista  for  the  ashes  of  the  dead, 
38 

Clarke,  Mr.  E.  F.  C,  31 
Coffins,  perishable,  risk  of  bury- 
ing in,  68,  69 
Conditions  of  the  English  Society 


for  undertaking  cremation, 
21-24  ;  and  Appendix  B 

Cost  of  cremation,  28,  29,  36, 
151,  and  Appendix  B 

Coventry,  Bishop  of,  speaks  at 
Birmingham  in  favour  of  cre- 
mation, 61 

Crawshay,  Mrs.  Rose,  8,  159 

Creed,  Hon.  J.  M.,  his  advocacy 
of  the  movement  in  Australia, 
16 

Cremation:  history  from  1874 
to  1884,   I-2I  ;  experiments 
in  Italy,  2  ;  Brunetti's  experi- 
ments, 2,  93;  instances  at 
Breslau  and  Dresden,  3  ;  its 
first   advocacy   in  England, 
3  sqq.  ;  formation  of  a  Society, 
6  (see  also  Cremation  Society 
of  England) ;  chemical  pro- 
ducts, 10  ;  bibliography,  3,  5, 
12,  13  ;  progress  abroad,  13- 
18;  formation  of  the  Milan 
Society,  13  ;  opening  of  cre- 
matoria   in    Germany,  14, 
1 5  and  note ;  number  of  cre- 
mations at   Stockholm  and 
Gothenburg,  16  ;  statistics  in 
the  United  States,  16;  pro- 
gress  of  the   movement  in 
Australia,  16,  144  ;  the  Paris 
crematorium,    17,    18 ;  cre- 
mations in  Dorset,  18,  19  ;  the 
Welsh  case,  and  Mr.  Justice 
Stephen's  decision,   19 ;  re- 
jection of  Dr.  Cameron's  Bill 
in  Parliament,  20,  21 ;  history 
from  1884  to  1 89 1,  22-43  5 
mode  of  proceeding  when  cre- 
mation is  applied  for,  26,  and 
Appendix  B ;   history  from 
1 89 1  to  1899,  44-63  ;  opinion 
of  Select  Committee,  53  ;  pro- 
gress in  England  and  Scotland, 
59-62 ;   the  question  of  its 
being   made   compulsory  in 
cases  of  contagious  disease, 
72,     143,    146  ;  economic 
aspects,  84-87,  117,  118;  in 


Index 


183 


relation  to  sentiment,  90,  91, 
wZsqq.;  its  superiority  to 
burial  generally  stated,  1 12  ; 
mode  of  performing  cremation 
in  1874,   \\T,sq(l-''>  the  first 
cremations  in  England,  115 
note  ;  general  summary  of  the 
advantages  of  cremation,  127- 
129,  130,  131  ;  its  advocates 
misunderstood,  143  ;  rules  for 
safe    procedure,    145    sqq.  ; 
answer  to  objection  that  the 
smoke  and  gases  from  crema- 
tion vitiate  the  air,  147  sqq.  ; 
saving  effected  of  land  pro- 
fitable for  husbandry  by  cre- 
mation, 150  ;  cost,  28,  29,  36, 
151,    164;   enables  ancient 
churchyards  to  be  used  again, 
151  ;  suggestions  for  a  Parlia- 
mentary  Bill  for  regulating 
cremation,  154,  155  ;  general 
instructions  for  arranging  a 
cremation,  Appendix  B 
Cremation  Society  of  England  : 
its  formation  in  1 874,  6  ;  con- 
ditions of  membership,    7  ; 
members  of  the  council,  6,  8  ; 
selects  a  site  at  Woking  for  a 
crematorium,  9  ;  publication 
of  its  "Transactions,"  11  ;  its 
progress  favoured  by  Mr.  Jus- 
tice Stephen's  decision,  19 ; 
issues  the  conditions   to  be 
observed  prior  to  cremation, 
22-24  j  recommendations  to 
applicants,   26-28 ;  charges, 
28,  29 ;  engagement  offered 
to  persons  desiring  cremation 
at  death,  29,  30 ;  life-mem- 
bers, 29  ;  erection  of  a  chapel 
&c.  at  Woking,  31-33  ;  the 
property  of  the  Society  free- 
hold, 34 ;  the  Select  Com- 
mittee's    opinion     of  the 
Society's  modes,  53  ;  celebra- 
tion of  its  twenty-fifth  anni- 
versary at  Grosvenor  House, 
63  ;    investment   of  surplus 


funds,   63   nole ;  certificates 
used  by  the  Society,  146  and 
Appendix  C  ;  its^  present  con- 
stitution, Appendix  A 
Cremation  Society  of  Milan,  13, 

Crematoria,  special,  for  cases  of 

zymotic  disease,  72 
Cremona,  cremations  at,  14 
Crime,  facilitated  by  the  present 

registration  system,  49,  5 1,  52 ; 

prevented  on  the  Continent 

by  the  official  certifier,  125 
Crypts,  utilisation  of,  for  pre- 

serNdng  the  ashes  of  cremated 

bodies,  152 

Death  Certification,  official 
report  thereon  by  Committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons, 
51,  53;  defects  of,  45,  50; 
still  exist  unremedied,  57  ; 
system  necessary,  122-4,  154 

Deaths,  registration  of,  defects 
in  mode  of,  45  sqq.  ;  suggested 
reforms  in,  48,  50.  (See  also 
under  Registration) 

Decomposition,  changes  of,  75 
sqq.  ;  its  deadly  influence  on 
human  life,  80,  81,  107,  108 

Denmark,  cremation  society  in, 

15 

Derby,  Lord,  opens  the  Liver- 
pool crematorium,  60 

Disease,  contagious  or  zymotic, 
proportion  of  deaths  caused 
by,  58,  64  ;  dangers  of  burial 
in  cases  of,  65,  67-70 ;  em- 
ployment of  disinfectants  in, 
65,  66,  70-73  ;  the  question 
of  cremation  being  rendered 
compulsory  in  cases  of,  72  ; 
propagated  by  germs  from  the 
buried  dead,  iT,2sqq.  ;  largely 
preventable,  136 

Disinfectants,  their  importance 
in  cases  of  infectious  disease, 
65,  66 


1 84  Modern 


Cremation 


Disinfection  of  bodies  by  heat 
70-73 

Doulton,  Messrs.,  cinerary  urns 
and  vases  produced  by,  41-43 

Dresden,  case  of  cremation  at, 
3.  13 


"Earth  to  earth"  system, 
133.  134 

Earth-worms,  poisonous  matters 
brought  to  the  surface  by, 
13s,  136 

Eassie,  William,  Hon.  Secretary 
of  the  English  Society,  6,  9  ; 
his  death,  30 

Economics  in  relation  to  crema- 
tion, 84-88,  117,  118 

Epidemics,  often  caused  by 
poisoned  water-courses,  67 

Etruscans,  the,  urns  and  sarco- 
phagi used  by,  38,  39 

Exhumations,  suggestion  for 
replacing  the  present  method 
of,  126 ;  their  rarity,  and  the 
number  in  twenty  years,  139, 
140 ;  the  cause  of  death  sel- 
dom discovered  by,  140,  141 

Expenditure  at  the  Woking 
Crematorium,  35,  36 


Farquharson,  M.P.,  Dr.,  8, 
20,  159 

Fees  for  cremation,  28,  29,  36, 

and  Appendix  B 
Fletcher,  Mr.  J.  S.,  8,  159 
Forms  to   be  observed  when 
cremation  is  desired,  Appen- 
dix B 

Foster,  Sir  Walter,  51 

France,  certificates  of  death  in. 
Appendix  C.    {See  also  Paris) 

"  Fresh  Pond  "  Crematorium, 
New  York,  records  of  crema- 
tions at,  21 

Funerals,  cost  of,  87,  88,  94, 
151 

Furnaces,  see  Apparatus 


Galton,  Sir  Douglas,  8 
Gas-furnaces,  13,  14,  70-1 
Gases  resolved  in  the  process  of 

decomposition,  77,  89,  105, 

106,  119,  131,  149 
General  Board  of  Health,  inquiry 

into  the  state  of  burial-grounds 

by,  102  sqq. 
Germany,  crematoria  in,  14,  15 

and  note  ;  inspectors  of  deaths' 

m,  123 

Glasgow,  opening  of  crema- 
torium at,  60 

Gorini,  Professor,  experiments 
by,  2  ;  his  furnace  and  appa- 
ratus adopted  at  Woking,  9, 
10  ;  adoption  of  his  furnace 
in  Italy,  14  ;  31 

Gotha,  crematorium  at,  14,  le, 
16  ^ 

Gothenburg,  cremations  at,  16 

Graveyards,  examination  in 
1849  of,  102  sqq. 

Greeks,  urns  and  sarcophagi 
used  by  the,  37,  38 

Gregorian  Museum  at  the  Vati- 
can, urns  in,  39 

I-Iamburg,  crematorium  at,  15 
Hanham,    Captain,    erects  a 

private  crematorium,  18,  19 
Hart,  Ernest,  6 
Haweis,  Rev.  H.  R.,  6,  159 
Plawkins,  G.  H.,  6 
Heat,  disinfection  of  bodies  by, 

70-73 

Holland,  cremation  society  in, 
15 

Holland,  Mr.,  Medical  Inspector 
of  Burials,  his  article  in  the 
' '  Contemporary  Review  "  in 
defence  of  burial,  97  sqq. 
author's  reply  to,  97  sqq. 

Home  Office,  opposes  cremation, 
10,  18 ;  petition  of  medical 
men  to,  i 

Hot-air  apparatus,  17,  18 

PIull,  crematorium  in  course  of 
erection  at,  61 


Index 


185 


Infants,  deaths  of,  care  neces- 
sary in  ascertaining  causes  of, 
141,  142 

Inquests,  increase  of,  58,  59 ; 
their  number  in  proportion  to 
deaths,  47,  139 

Interments,  intra-mural,  83,  103 

Italy,  experiments  in,  2  ;  crema- 
toria in,  13,  14 

Jeaffreson,  John  Cordy,  6 

KiRCHERiAN  Museum,  exam- 
ples of  urns  in,  39 

Lambert,  Rev.  Brooke,  8, 159 

Land  for  cemeteries,  lost  for 
purposes  of  husbandry,  1 50 

Lange,  Mr.  Louis,  president  of 
the  "Fresh  Pond"  Crema- 
torium, New  York,  21 

Legality  of  cremation,  8,  19 

Lehmann,  F. ,  6 

Lewis,  Dr.  Waller,  104,  107 

Liverpool,  opening  of  crema- 
torium at,  60 

Lodi,  cremation  at,  14 

London,  first  experiments  in,  3  ; 
amount  of  ashes  and  bone- 
earth  from  buried  persons  in 
one  year  in,  86  ;  burial  with- 
out certificates  in,  124  ;  num- 
ber of  acres  occupied  for  burial 
purposes  for,  150  note 

Long,  Rev.  J.,  8 

Lord,  C.  F.,  6 

Manchester,  opening  of  cre- 
matorium at,  59,  60 

Manchester,  (the  late)  Bishop  of, 
on  the  use  of  land  for  burial 
purposes,  150 

Mannheim,  cremations  at,  15 

Maudslay  &  Sons,  Messrs.,  115 
note 

"Medecin-Verificateur,"  the,  of 
Paris,  123 


Milan,  cremation  in  a  gas-fur- 
nace in,  13  ;  formation  of  a 
Society  in,  13,  14  ;  cinerary 
vases  in  the  cemetery  of,  41 

Milk, 'contaminated,  the  frequent 
cause  of  epidemics,  67  note 

Milroy,  Dr.,  104,  107 

Minerals  resolved  in  the  process 
of  decomposition,  77 

Minister  of  Health,  proposed 
appointment  of  a,  45 

Mode  of  procedure  in  applying 
for  cremation,  26 

Munich,    death-verificators  in, 

125 

Nasmyth,  James,  31 

Nature,  changes  of  decomposi- 
tion wrought  by,  75  sqq. 

New  York,  cremations  at  the 
"  Fresh  Pond  "  Crematorium, 
21 

Norway,  cremation  society  in,  15 
Number     of     cremations  at 
Woking,  25  ;  at  various  cre- 
matoria abroad,  14- 18,  21 

Objections  to  cremation,  4, 
5,  10,  92,  131,  147-9 

Padua,  cremations  at,  14 

Paris,  crematorium  in,  17  ; 
latest  report  from,  18  ;  in- 
spector of  deaths  in,  123,  125, 
and  Appendix  C 

Parkes,  Dr.  Edmund,  no,  120 

Pini,  Dr.,  13 

Plants,  growth  of,  fostered  by 
the  results  of  animal  decom- 
position,   78-80,    118,  119, 
120,  148,  149 
Playfair,  Lord,  8,  20,  105,  159 
Poisoning,    safeguards  agains 
employing  cremation  to  re- 
move traces  of,  22-24,  26, 
122,  144  ;  facilities  offered  by 
defective  registration  for,  45, 


i86 


Modern 


Cremation 


51,  142;  subtle  methods  of, 
49  ;  suggestions  made  by  the 
Select  Committee  for  the 
detection  of  cases  of,  51  sqq.  ; 
suggestion  for  the  detection 
of,  126,  127 

Poisons,  decomposition  of,  in  a 
buried  body,  137  and  note 

Poisons,  metallic,  survival  in 
buried  bodies  of,  137,  138 

Polli,  Professor,  experiments 
by,  2 

Precautions  to  be  observed  in 

cases  of  cremation,  20;  and 

Appendix  B 
Preparations  for  burning  a  body, 

27,  28  ^  ^' 

Press,  the,  favourable  towards 

cremation,  98 

Quicklime,  use  of,  in  fatal 
cases  of  contagious  disease, 
146 

Recommendations  for  prepar- 
ing the  body,  27,  28 

Registrar-General,  reports  of, 
46,  47,  57,  58,  124,  125 

Registration  of  deaths,  defects 
in,  45-48,  58,  59,  122,  124, 
142  ;  deputation  to  the  Home 
Secretary  on  the  subject,  45  ; 
Mr.  Asquith  appoints  a  Select 
Committee  on  the  subject, 
51  ;  Blue  Book  issued  on, 
51-S3;  the  subject  brought 
before  the  British  Medical 
Association  by  the  author, 
54 ;  suggested  regulations 
for,  154 

Reports  of  the  Select  Committee 
on  Death  Certification,  51  sqq. 

Risks  of  burial  in  the  earth, 
65-70,  83,  84,  102,  105-I11 

Robinson,  Mr.  W.,  8,  159 

Rochester,  Bishop  of,  prohibits 
the  erection  of  a  crematorium 
in  a  North  London  cemetery,  9 


Rome,  crematorium  at,  14 
Royal  Sanitary  Commission,  124 

St.  Botolph,  church  of,  107 
St.    John    Lateran  Museum, 

examples  of  urns  preserved  in, 

40 

Salomon,  M.  Georges,  18  note 
ban  Francisco,  cremations  at,  16 
Santa,  Dr.  Pietra  de,  his  report 

on  Italian  cases,  3 
Sarcophagi  of  the  Greeks,  38, 

39,  40,  42 
Scotland,  defects  in  the  regis- 

tiation  system  of,  47 
Sea,  the,  burying  in,  121 
Select    Committee    on  Death 

Certification,  51  sqq. 
Sentiment,  as  affected  by  crema- 
tion, 90,  91,  118  sqq. 
Service,  burial,  its  adaptation 

for  cremation  rites,  153  and 

7iote 
Shaen,  W.,  6 

Shells  not  desirable  in  cremating 

bodies,  27,  and  Appendix  B 
Siemens,  Sir  William,  115 
Siemens'  apparatus,  3,  71  ;  new 

form  of,  71  note 
Simon,  Mr.  Henry,  60,  61,  124 
Smith,  Mr.  Martin  Ridley,  8, 
159 

Smith,  Dr.  Southwood,  104 

Statistics  of  cremation  in  Eng- 
land, 24,  25,  44,  60 

Stephen,  Mr.  Justice,  his  de- 
cision in  the  Welsh  case,  19 

Stockholm,  cremations  at,  16 

Strahan,  A.,  6 

Sutherland,  Dr.,  104,  107,  125 
Sweden,  cremation  society  in, 
15,  16 

Swinburne-Hanham,  Mr.  J.  C, 
Honorary  Secretary  of  the 
London  Society,  8,  19,  61, 
63,  159 

Switzerland,  crematorium  in, 
15,  16 


Index 


187 


Thomas,  Dr.  Danford,  his 
report  of  the  number  of  ex- 
humations ordered  in  Central 
Middlesex  during  seven  years, 
139  ;  his  inquiry  as  to  the 
results  of  exhumations  in 
England  and  Wales,  140 

"Transactions"  of  the  Cre- 
mation Society  of  England,  li 

Tuberculosis  and  many  other 
infectious  complaints,  pro- 
pagated by  bacteria  from  the 
buried  dead,  133 

United  States,  number  of 
crematoria  in,  16  [cf.  21) 

Urns,  25  ;  Greek  and  Etruscan 
examples  of,  37,  38  ;  author's 
designs  for,  40 ;  examples 
produced  by  Messrs.  Doulton, 
41-43  ;  166  ;  Appendix  B 

Utility,  in  relation  to  the  treat- 
ment of  the  dead,  82-87 

Utilization  of  animal  matter  by 
Nature,  76-80,  148-9 


Varese,  cremations  at,  14 
Vases  for  the  preservation  of 

ashes,  see  Urns 
Vaughan,  Major,  6 
Vegetables,  growth  of,  fostered 
by  the  results  of  animal  de- 
composition, 78-80,  118,  119, 
120,  148,  149 
Venice,  cremations  at,  14 
Vienna,  Great   Exhibition  at, 
2 ;  death-certificates  in,  123 
note 

Viscera,  the,  preservation  of, 
for  the  detection  of  poisoning, 
126,  145 

Voysey,  Rev.  C,  6,  159 


Wales,  case  of  cremation  in, 
19;  burial  without  certificates 
in,  124,  125 

Water-courses,  poisoned,  the 
frequent  cause  of  epidemics,  67 

Wells,  Sir  T.  Spencer,  6,  8; 
advocates  cremation  before 
the  British  Medical  Associa- 
tion, II 

Westminster,  Duke  of,  8  ;  con- 
tributes towards  the  erection 
of  a  chapel  &c.  at  Woking, 
31  ;  introduces  a  deputation 
to  the  Home  Secretary,  45  ; 
opens  the  Manchester  crema- 
torium, 60  ;  accepts  the  vice- 
presidency  of  the  English 
Society,  63 

Willesden  Cemetery,  proposal 
for  the  erection  of  a  crema- 
torium in,  62 

Woking  Crematorium  :  erected 
in  1879,  9 ;  first  cremation, 
24 ;  number  of  cremations  to 
1898,  25  ;  niches  in  the  hall 
for  urns,  25  ;  method  of  pro- 
cedure, 28 ;  erection  of  a 
chapel  &c.,  31-33  ;  generous 
help  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford, 
31,  32,  34;  description  of  the 
ftirnace,  35  :  annual  cost  of 
maintenance,  35,  36  ;  London 
offices,  36  ;  proposal  for  erect- 
ing a  cloister,  36,  37  ;  vase  or 
urn  used  for  preserving  ashes, 
41,  42 ;  notes  respecting  it, 
Appendices  A  and  B 


Yates,  Mr.  Edmund,  8 


Zurich,  crematorium  at,  16 
Zymotic  diseases,  see  Disease 


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and  concise.' — Manchester  Guardian. 

THE  MONEY-SPINNER,  and  other  Character  Notes.    By  H.  Seton 

Merriman,  Author  of  'The  Sowers,'  'With  Edged  Tools,'  &c.,  and  S.  G. 
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BRITISH  RULE  AND  MODERN  POLITICS:  an  Historical  Study. 
By  the  Hon.^  A.  S.  G.  Canning,  Author  of  '  The  Divided  Irish,'  '  History  in  Fact 
and  Fiction.'    Large  crown  8vo.  7^.  6d. 
WESTMINSTER  REVIEW.—'  An  examination  of  the  effect  of  English  literature 
upon  modern  politics,  which  in  Mr.  Canning's  able  hands  is  eminently  successful.' 

AURORA  LEIGH.    By  Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning.    New  and 

Cheaper  Edition.  With  an  Introduction  by  Algernon  Charles  Swinburne, 
and  a  Frontispiece.    Crown  8vo.  cloth,  gilt  edges,  3J.  (sd. 

THE  RING  AND  THE  BOOK.    By  Robert  Browning.  New 

Edition.  With  3  Portraits  and  ii  full-page  Illustrations.  Large  crown  8vo.  8j.  6</. 

GARDNER'S  HOUSEHOLD  MEDICINE  AND  SICK-ROOM  GUIDE: 

a  Description  of  the  means  of  Preserving  Health,  and  the  Treatment  of  Diseases, 
Injuries,  and  Emergencies.   Revised  and  expressly  adapted  for  the  Use  of  Families, 
Missionaries,  and  Colonists.    By  W.  H.  C.  Stavelev,  F.R.C.S.  Eng.  Thirteenth 
^  Edition.    VI' ith  numerous  Illustrations.    Demy  8vo.  8^.  6rf. 
Fully  succeeds  in  its  object,  and  is  essentially  practical  in  its  execution.'— Lancet. 
It  IS  difficult  to  conceive  that  its  invaluable  information  could  be  presented  in  a 
better  form.  —Daily  Telegraph. 

A  SIMPLE  GRAMMAR  OF  ENGLISH  NOW  IN  USE.   By  John 

Earle,  M.A.,  Rector  of  Swanswick  ;  Rawlinsonian  Professor  of  Anglo-Saxon  in 
the  University  of  Oxford  ;  Author  of  '  English  Prose :  its  Elements,  History,  and 
_  Usage,    The  Philology  of  the  English  Tongue,'  &c.    Crown  8vo.  6s. 
Cannot  fail  to  help  anyone  who  reads  it  attentively  to  think  and  speak  and  write 
witti  accuracy  and  precision,  and  to  the  majority  of  mankind  this  is  the  best  service  a 
grammar  can  render.  .  .  .  We  should  like  to  see  the  "Simple  Grammar"  in  the  hands 
ot  every  educated  man  and  woman.'— Guardian. 

By  the  same  Author. 

ENGLISH  PROSE  :  its  Elements,  History,  and  Usage.    8vo.  i6s. 


London:  SMITH,  ELDER,  &  CO.,  15  Waterloo  Place. 


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THE  LETTERS  OF  ROBERT  BROWNING  AND  ELIZABETH 

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THE  ETCHINGHAM   LETTERS.    By  Mrs.  Fuller  Maitland, 

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possible  statistics  and  military  treatises.' 

A  LIFE  OF  WILLIAM  SHAKESPEARE.    By  Sidney  Lee,  Editor 

of  '  The  Dictionary  of  National  Biography.'  Fourth  Edition.   With  2  Portraits 
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THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  'CACHALOT'  ROUND  THE  WORLD 

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TIMES  — '  Mr.  Bullen  has  a  splendid  subject,  and  he  handles  it  with  the  pen  of  a 
master          '"  The  Cruise  of  the  Cachalot"  is  a  book  which  cannot  but  fascinate  al 
lovers  of  the  sea,  and  all  who  can  appreciate  a  masterly  presentation  of  its  wonder  and 
its  mystery,  its  terrors  and  its  trials,  its  humours  and  its  tragedies.   ^  

THE  LIFE  OF  CHARLES  STEWART  PARNELL  (1846-1891). 

By  R.  BARRY  O'Brien,  Author  of  '  Fifty  Years  of  Concessions  to  Ireland,  &c. 
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TV'i\2iToTr^SsiBiRY^t  Edinburgh.-'  The  remarkable  biography  of  a 

^^"^""DAILTcilRONICLE.-'  A  book  which  ranks  among  the  great  biographies  of  the 

mfiHTS  FOR  THE  FLAG.    By  W.  H.  FiTCHETT  ('Vedette'), 

FIGHi5>  *  "f\.^^"f^^,^w„„^;  Emp^^^^  Second  Edition.  With  i6  Portraits, 
book  has  few  equals.'  ^^^^  ^^^^^^ 

DEEDS  THAT  WON  THE  EMPIRE.    Ninth  Edition.  With 

^^icT^hT^--'^'^orL.^^^^^  to  write   has  English  literature 

SPECTA  IUR.    /;°^„Ynfn.;itiE-  such  life  and  v  gour  into  historical  scenes,    l  ie 
produced  a  writer  capabk^  i^^pedally  satisfactory.  ...  The 

ttZZo^i.'^S'^^^TJ.r  by  storm  wJ.e«_ve_rU_findsln^^ 


london:  SMITH,  ELDER,  &  CO.,  iS  Waterloo  Place. 


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